


Reality Raincheck

by Mistress_Of_Space_92



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Other, and the oc kills a rapist in a later chapter, it's scary but i don't go into detail, there's an incubus in a chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-04-30 23:17:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5183378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistress_Of_Space_92/pseuds/Mistress_Of_Space_92
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is my take on how things would be if a woman from our time really did end up in London in the 1880's. See the very real horrors she would face, the real obstacles she would overcome, and the scarily real terrors she would witness. She's no Mary-Sue and this is not her dream land. Warning-Gore, Violence, Attempted rape, Murder, also possibly ideologically sensitive. Slow build!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. INTRO and INFO

**********THIS IS NOT THE FIRST CHAPTER. IT'S JUST AN INTRO!***********

**YOU SHOULD READ THIS BEFORE THE REAL FIRST CHAPTER THOUGH.**

 

**Introduction**

In most (99%) Kuroshitsuji fan fiction where there is an 'Original Character' you always see a young girl (usually between 15-29) who 'totally luvs' Kuroshitsuji, and they magically get transported into the Kuroverse for whatever reason. And everyone there immediately loves and worships her and her crazy attitude and she soon wins the heart of her favorite male Kuro-guy. And she remembers every single thing about the anime/manga because she 'luvs' it so much. And she's only in their universe maybe ten minutes yet she manages to meet every single character from the series, dead or alive, and becomes their instant BFF~ Everything is super easy for her and she doesn't have to work for anything because everything is practically handed to her, and nobody from that time (1800s people) seems to find the odd (for them) way she speaks or dresses in any way offensive.

For once I would like to see a more realistic version of these stories. I know there is only so far this 'realism' can go because, come on, the actual manga Yana Toboso wrote had demons and death reapers in it after all. I just want to read what would REALLY happen to a woman who somehow got telaported or whatever into London in the 1800s where there were demon butlers, reapers, Queens Guard Dogs, psychotic women doctors who team up with said reapers, skeevy Italian mob men, annoying Indian Princes, incompetent servants, and fallen angels. It seems to me that anyone from our world who got sent to that world would undoubtedly lose any and all sanity they had to them. And since I've yet to find a story where stuff like this has happened I'm going to write my own. Wish me luck as I embark on this perilous literary journey as I travel where most authors fear to tread.

 

 **Catherine Bennett**  is my OC for this little story of mine. Let us see how she fares in a world of things that really do go 'bump' in the night. So you can all get a good idea of what she looks like, here is her description plus some facts and general info on her.

 **LOOKS**  
She has above average height: she's 6'2" barefoot.  
She has a pear shaped body: her hips are wider than her chest.  
She has black hair and hazel eyes. Used to dye her hair but stopped.  
She has both ears pierced twice and also has a small nose ring though  
she doesn't wear the nose ring except on weekends or off from work/school.  
She has a tattoo on her left side of a branch of cherry blossoms but she doesn't really like showing it off. She was drunk when she got it done.

 **FACTS ABOUT HER**  
She was born September 13th 1988. She is a Virgo.  
She is currently 25 (soon 26) years old and finishing her medical schooling.  
Her parents are reasonably wealthy and sent her to the best school.  
She attends Harvard. Took 3 years of undergraduate education and is finishing  
4 additional years at Harvard Medical School. Only one year left to go.  
Had her little run in with the wormhole/physical anomaly that started this story not happened then  
she'd have graduated in the top ten of her class with a bachelors and as an MD.

Her mother and father both live in New York so they only see her when she  
is on holidays from school. They send her money every month so she can focus on school and not work. Her father is a high profile attorney who gets paid a lot and her  
mother is a successful self made businesswoman. She has one older brother, Mark Bennett,  
who was attending Columbia University in NY but dropped out after becoming hopelessly  
addicted to Oxycontin. He recently moved back in with their parents after  
getting kicked out of his apartment and losing his job. He resents Catherine and her success.  
She has been interning at Bridgewater State Hospital. She only had one year of interning left.

She did in fact read manga and watch anime when she was in high school and in her first  
and second year of university but gradually stopped in favor of focusing on her  
classes and grades. Though every now and then her and a few of her old high school  
friends who were also fellow anime nerds will get together for a weekend on holidays  
or break and watch anime as a way to reminisce their high school years. She has a black  
belt in Kyokushin Karate. She took up the class after hearing a girl in her class was beaten  
and raped walking back to her dorm from a frat party. The girls room was two doors away from hers.

 **HER PERSONALITY**  
She is very gentle and delicate with a deep sense of humane that makes her an excellent caregiver.  
She is very loyal, hardworking, and kind. She has an amazing work ethic. She believes in finishing  
what you start and to not slack off. She is kind to everyone but has an even softer spot for children  
and animals. She likes music, dancing, books, and painting. (though she's not very good at painting)  
She is very artistic. She has always favored the arts but knew becoming a doctor was more practical and had better pay. Plus her parents wouldn't pay for art school.  
It takes a lot to make her mad but when she does snap she tends to go a little crazy.  
Her sore spots are harming children, animals, women, or anyone defenseless. Her nickname in high school was Fury because she once set another students car on fire. No charges were pressed.

 **FLAWS**  
She can be too generous, to the point of giving too much or leaving not enough for herself.  
She can be overly optimistic. And not know when to give up or to start over.  
She has a very twisted sense of humor. Her friends and family say she has a 'black' sense of humor.  
She can be very vindictive to the point of cruelty. She thinks people should get what they give.  
She has been known to switch from sweet and meek to barbs and sarcasm at the drop of a hat.  
Thought to be bipolar though she has never been tested so it remains unknown at the present time.  
When she drinks she becomes wild and unpredictable. She once pushed a man down a flight of stairs for calling  
her a 'stupid bitch'. She doesn't drink at all anymore. She knows what it does to her and she hates it.  
She does have her vices. She can't go a single day without some sort of caffeine in her system, be it coffee, soda, or tea.


	2. And So It Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start off fine for Catherine and her friends but slowly turn scary.

**Reality Raincheck**

**CHAPTER 01**

**By: The Mistress~**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

 

Her feet were killing her and she was starving. That could only mean one thing to Catherine Bennett. It had been another productive day of soul sucking interning, but thankfully she only has one year of it left before she's an official doctor with her own patients. And she couldn't be more thankful. She stumbled slightly in her red heels and wished she'd have been able to wear her usual comfy scrubs and sneakers. But today she'd had an important meeting with the Chief of Medicine and some other high ranking hospital officials that could otherwise determine her doctoring career so she's worn her nicest dark grey suit with a red blouse with a fancy black rose pattern underneath and since it was mid winter she wore her long black A-line wool coat with the cute fur collar. She paired that with her red heels, red lipstick, and the pearl necklace her daddy had given her for getting into Harvard. He and her mother were so proud of her for getting accepted. They'd been so happy that they'd thrown a big party and invited all the family and neighbors as well as her friends. It was a wonderful day, even after Mark showed up buzzed out of his mind. Their parents either didn't notice or they ignored it because they never said anything to him about it.

Shaking her head to rid herself of the unpleasant memories Catherine pulled her long black coat tighter around her narrow shoulders and sped up her walk to her cute little Mazda 6 that was gifted to her on her birthday when she turned 19. She has never been more thankful for her car than she was at that moment because across the parking lot from her were three men laughing and shoving each other. You could tell they were drunk by the way they were overly loud and staggering around. Even though she was an accomplished black belt she knew three men who were stronger than her would eventually be able to overpower her. And she didn't want the same thing that happened to Tiffany Smith to happen to her. After what happened to her the poor girl stopped going to classes for a while and then she switched schools completely. Not that Catherine could blame her. She wouldn't have been able to handle walking past where she was beaten and raped on a daily basis either.

So as quick as possible she pulled her keys from her bag and unlocked her car, got in, and then locked all the doors behind her. When she felt she was finally safe she breathed a sigh of relief and then started her car and began the drive to her apartment. She was about a quarter of the way there when her phone rang. Keeping her eyes on the road she rummaged around in her purse with her right hand until she finally found her phone. Glancing at the screen she saw Tori was calling her. She hasn't talked to Tori in over a month. With her finishing up Med School and Tori studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology there just wasn't enough time for them to regularly talk to each other. Though they still managed to keep up their tradition of spending at least one weekend together every holiday to bring together the old 'Anime Club' from their high school. It sounds like a bunch of people but really it was just her, Tori, Kelly, Monica, Erin, and Rachel. There were boys in the club at school but we only invited the girls so that there could be a slumber party afterwards for old time sake.

Sliding the answer bar across the screen she held the phone up to her ear and said, "Hey Tori what's up?" which was immediately followed by a, "OhmyfreakinggodCatherine! Me and Erin are outside your apartment! Where are you? You're not working the night shift at the hospital are you?" Catherine held the phone away from her now ringing ear and shook her head to get her bearings back. After her ears could safely receive sound again she hesitantly put the phone back to her ear. "Hey Tori. I'm a good few blocks from my place. And why and how are you outside my apartment?" Catherine listened as Tori went into a long explanation about how her and Erin were going to her great aunt Lillian's funeral and will reading so they got time off of school and how they wanted to crash at her place because they were going to have to leave in the morning and they wanted to have an impromptu 'Anime Night' since they were there anyways. Catherine heard Erin in the background, "You never know, this might be our last chance to spend time together goofing off!" to which Catherine smiled and said, "Yeah right~" Both girls on the other end laughed and then Tori asked if them crashing there would be cool and Catherine just nodded before remembering they couldn't see her so she said a quick "Sure, I'll be there in about ten minutes if the traffic doesn't get any worse." Tori and Erin then proceeded to assault her eardrums with high pitched squeals of delight, making her yank the phone from her ear for a second time but this time she harshly ended the call.

And like she said, just over ten minutes later she was parking her car outside her apartment. With sluggish movements she made it to the elevator and ascended to her floor. When the elevator reached her floor she got out and was nearly tackled to the ground by a very excited Tori and Erin. Catherine laughed and dragged all three of them to her door and fished her keys from her bag before letting them all in. Erin headed for the tv while Tori headed for the kitchen. 'Probably looking for food.' she thought with a laugh. Meanwhile Catherine trudged to her room so she could  
get out of her stiff suit and into her tank top and yoga pants.

Once she was in her makeshift PJs and feeling more relaxed Catherine went in search of her overzealous house guests. Erin had just dumped a bag of DVD cases onto her living rooms carpeted floor and was sifting through them and Tori was talking on her cordless phone while pacing back and forth in her kitchen doorway. She looked annoyed too. Probably because she couldn't find any good food in there. But in all fairness she hadn't had any time to shop the past three weeks what with long work hours and general laziness. Catherine smiled and thanked god for take-out.

"Hey Cat check this out!" Erin called her excitedly from the living room. Catherine went in and plopped down on her leather couch and pulled her legs up to rest on the cushion next to her and got situated then asked, "What is it Erin?" Said girl quickly crawled over and sat on the floor directly in front of her and proudly held up three overly thick DVD cases. Catherine absently noted how drained the other girl looked, but brushed it off to her being tired from tests or whatever. All three had beautiful Japanese artwork on them and had the title 'Black Butler' stamped across the top. The first case was black and had a tall thin man with black hair in a brown suit holding a reluctant looking young girl with navy colored hair in a pink and white dress and matching hat.

Catherine thought it looked a bit interesting, but she much preferred yaoi and boys love to cutsey shounen-ai. The second box looked more interesting. It had the same man from the first box but his hair was done different and he was wearing a butler outfit and he was holding a young boy bridal style, who incidentally looked like the male version of the girl from the first box. The boys hair was short and he was dressed in shorts and a shirt and was wearing an eye patch of all things. But Catherine had to admit this one looked more promising than the first. The last box by far looked the coolest. It was purple and had a foppish blonde boy sitting in a fancy chair looking overly arrogant with a tall emo looking butler standing next to him wearing glasses. There were pretty spider webs in the background and the box had crazy kanji emblazonment at the top with Kuroshitsuji written below that.

She had no idea what this anime was about but from just looking at the cover art on the three boxes she had to guess that the first butler was having sex with both the young boy and girl. And they were most likely brother and sister too! How juicy! And the second butler was probably screwing around with the little blonde boy though he looks like he doesn't really want to. Catherine smirked at the thought of a grown man fending off the sexual advances of a prepubescent and sexually androgynous boy. Pure hilarity if you ask her. Having fully looked over Erin's DVD cases she finally spoke, "They look cool and all but I have no idea what anime this is." she said honestly.

Erin looked shocked at hearing that. "You've never read or watched Black Butler? What have you been doing with your life?!" she asked a bit hysterically. Catherine merely raised a unimpressed brow and said plainly, "Med school." Erin still looked a bit drained but her shock bled though it and was paired with hints of righteous anger. "Attending seven years of college is no excuse for not reading or at the very least watching Black Butler!" Catherine watched as Erin went from angry woman to love struck fan girl in 0.5 seconds. She was blushing and giggling up a storm. Mumbling things Catherine couldn't make out though she heard the names Sebastian and Claude a lot. The intern just rolled her eyes and thought sardonically, 'And people say I'm bipolar.'

And out of nowhere Tori jumped over the back of the couch and landed on Catherine's legs, and said girl, upon being impacted let out a shout of surprise before yanking her sore legs from under her friend and tucking them under herself to keep them from being sat on again. Tori completely ignored the glare aimed her way and said cheerfully, "Well I just ordered us some pizza, cheesy bread-sticks, and soda because lame-O here has no food whatsoever!" she said in a disapproving tone that went in one of Catherine's ears and out the other. Suddenly Tori squealed and practically screamed, "OH MY GOD ERIN! You didn't tell me you brought your Black Butler DVDs! We need to watch these right freaking now!" she started bouncing up and down in her seat like a kid with ADHD but stopped when Erin said, "We are but you know Cat's never read or watched any of the series." Tori looked at Catherine like she'd casually mentioned killing a hooker, with complete shock and disgust.

Then Tori gasped suddenly and covered her mouth with her hands and whispered loudly through her fingers, "So she has no idea who Sebastian is?" Erin shook her head 'no'. "She's never heard of Grell either?" She gasped loudly and choked out, "Oh holy hell! SHE HAS NO CLUE WHO UNDERTAKER IS DOES SHE?!" Erin shook her head 'no' solemnly and bowed her head as if she were mourning the loss of a loved one and not an anime. Catherine just rolled her eyes at their antics and said without remorse, "I like anime and all but I'll never like it as much as you two weirdos do, and for that I'm thankful." Tori and Erin just glared balefully at her before sighing, rather dramatically, in unison.

"She's a lost cause huh Tori~" Erin said with another sigh. Tori nodded her head and said, "Yeah but we're still going to force her to watch both seasons and the OVAs whether she likes it or not, but with all the mega hot guys and the not-so-subtle hints of homosexuality she'll most likely love it to pieces." They both laughed loudly at Catherine's male on male fetish. Catherine scoffed at their childishness and grabbed the remote and flicked on the tv, hoping to find something good to watch until the pizza got here because once it did there was no way she was gonna get to watch anything until Tori and Erin finished their Black Butler marathon. 'And knowing those two loons they're gonna do a commentary the entire freakin' time.'

Before she could find anything good to watch her doorbell rang. Tor screamed, "I'M COMING." while hurrying to the door. Catherine gave her retreating figure a tired look. Erin squealed happily while putting one of the Black Butler DVDs in before running back to the sofa and plopping down next to her friend. They sat and watched the menu selection come onto the screen while Tori paid for the food. They heard her almost drop something and laughed when she started to cuss at the food. She stumbled into the living room and practically dumped the boxes of pizza and soda onto the coffee table before heading into the kitchen to get some cups.

Once the three women had something to drink and a slice of pizza Erin pressed play on the first DVD. And that began her journey into the series of Black Butler. And Catherine had to admit, her friends were right, the story was pretty amazing. They were currently a third of the way into the first season and during certain parts Tori and Erin would tell her something about a place or character that wasn't in the anime, you could only read about in the manga. Like how that Undertaker guy went a little bonkers and created a horde of zombies that terrorized a cruise ship, and that just made her wonder if they really had cruise ships back then. She shrugged and decided to Bing it later. Catherine cringed when Erin told her how in the manga there was a creepy guy named Baron Kelvin who was like 50 years old, and during some fancy party he fell in love/lust with Ciel, who at the time, was five years old.

That little bit of information disgusted Catherine to the point where she felt bile rise in her throat. She can't stand pedophiles. She's seen the after effects of that first hand at the hospital when a rape victim is brought in and seeing it almost kills her every time. In her eyes, anyone who rapes children should be tortured until they lose their minds, and then they should be killed. Hell, raping an adult is vile eough, why would you do it to a defenseless inocent child? People just can't completely recover from being violated physically. Sure your physical wounds will heal but the scars on your mind will be there forever. Grown adults can barely function after it happens to them, so children who aren't even mentally or physically mature enough to take care of themselves yet sure as hell won't be able to go on after something like that happens to them.

Catherine shuddered at her morbid train of thought but shoot herself out of it and went back to watching the show. They were starting the second season and Catherine's predictions about the blonde kid were true for the most part. He did want to get together with his butler. And she couldn't believe he had such a filthy mouth. The things that kid would say shocked the hell out of her. 'Isn't he a nobleman? Don't they tend to have more class than that?' she thought with mild disgust. But when it was revealed that the kid wasn't really a part of nobility, he was a commoner, and he was only taking the place of a real nobleman's son who had been missing sice he was a child and presumed dead did it fially make sense.

Catherine and her two friends continued to watch as Claude tasted Ciel's blood, 'He looked like he jizzed his pants.' she thought with a smirk. When Claude broke his contract with Alois and killed him as a result. And they continued to watch as the two demon butlers fought over Ciel like he was the most delectable thing they'd ever tasted. And finally they watched Hannah orchestrate the elaborate maze for the two demons to run through to win their prize. Catherine was on the edge of her seat by the end. The series won, it had her hooked. She watched as the two demons battled it out and finally Sebastian won. She held her breath in shock when Ciel and Hannah tumbled over the cliff into the water below. And when Sebastian discovered Ciel has been transformed into a demon and he was to remain the little Earls butler for all eternity Catherine cackled like mad, imensely pleased with the M. Night. Shyamalan worthy twist ending.

Catherie stood and stretched, thinking the impromptu Black Butler marathon was over. "Were do you thik you're going Cat? We still have the OVAs left to watch." Catherine sighed and made a show of slumping her shoulders and sitting back on the couch while Tori switched the DVDs in the player. She pretended she wasn't really interested so her friends wouldn't be all smug but secretly Catherine was actually pretty excited to see them after how much she ended up liking the original series. And so they went from there, first watching the 'Ciel in Wonderland' one (both parts), then 'Welcome to the Phantomhive's' (where the viewer is invited into the mansion in an RPG style), and then 'The Tale of William the Shinigami' (a story about Grell ad William as they think back on their academy days), and 'Spider's Intention' (story of life and time at the Trancy Manor), and finally her favorite so far 'The Making of Kuroshitsuji II' (It showed everyone from the anime series as modern day people/actors. Plus seeing them all live in modern time was a trip!).

When the end credits rolled for the final one Catherine asked Tori, "Was that the last one?" she was trying to sound bored but some sadess leaked through, which made her friends grin smugly. "Yup! That was the last one, too bad-so sad!" Catherine huffed at their combined smug laughter before snatching the remote from Erin's slack grip and switching the tv back to cable. "Hey what are you doing? We still have more anime to watch!" Tori complained loudly.

Catherine rolled her eyes and said blithely, "If we've already seen it then I'm not watching it again. The only reason I let you two put in that Black Butler was because I'd never seen it before." she was surfing through stations the whole time she spoke but she eventually settled on watching Tosh.0 because let's face it, that guy is hilarious. Incredibly cruel but hilarious none the less. She was watching Tosh talk to the Angry Ginger Kid when Tori huffed and asked her if she could check her email on her laptop since she left hers back at her dorm. 'It's not like I'm busy watching some good anime or anything.' she mumbled to herself. Catherine shrugged and pretended not to hear her and went back to watching Tosh and ignoring her friend. A few moments went by in which Tori got up and went over to the laptop on her counter and logged on. Shortly after she called Erin over for something. Then they started giggling.

'...Wait...giggling?' Catherine looked over to her two former high school friends and saw them leaning over her laptop, giggling and whispering to each other like hormonaly struck pre-teens. Curiosity peaked, Catherine got up and crept up behind the two women and saw them reading a web page. "What are you two doing?"

They both 'eeep'd' and turned around and glared at the Harvard girl. "God! You scared the crap out of us!" Tori said while holding a hand over her rapidly beating heart. Erin wasn't faring any better but didn't look angry anymore, instead she looked excited. "Oh my god Catherine look at what I found on the internet!" She showed Catherine a picture of what looked like one of those Transmutation Circles from Full Metal Alchemist. At least that's what it reminded her of. It was a multi-layered circle that had a hexagram inside of it. And inside of the hexagram was a triangle, and inside the triangle was a single circle. There were these strange runes in strategically placed spots all inside the circle. They were definitely foreign. To Catherine they looked like a cross between the Japanese and Arabic alphabet.

"Yeah it's pretty and all, but why are you two so excited over a circle?" she asked in a slightly bored tone. Tori sighed dejectedly while Erin smiled a wan smile and tried to explain. "Okay Catherine, you remember when I told you that my family history had a lot of witches in it? And that those witches could do, like, spells and junk." Catherine felt a lump form in her throat. She had a feeling she knew where this was going, and she honestly didn't like it. "Yeah." she replied a tad warily. "Well I've been practicing summoning things for the past few months. And I told Tori that witches were good at reading the future and fortune telling and all." Erin said excitedly.

Catherine felt a chill run down her spine when her friend said that she'd been 'summoning' things. "Erin." she said sternly to get the girls full attention. "Back up. What exactly did you mean when you said 'summoning'?" she asked in a slow even tone. She could feel her nerves twist in agitation but refused to let it show. She needed to find out just what her friend was doing because though Erin was one of the sweetest girls you could know, she was also one of the most reckless. She just didn't think before she did things. Once they'd been at a party in their senior year and Catherine walked into a room in search of her friends and found Erin ready to swallow a pill a boy had handed her. Catherine couldn't believe how stupid her friend was in that moment. And to top it off, after she smacked the pill from her fingers and dragged her friend away that same boy drugged some other poor girl five minutes later and date raped her in the bathroom and filmed it! It was online and everyone was sending it to each other the very next day. Needless to say it went viral in about five hours. The bastard was smart enough to keep his face and anything recognizable out of the shot though so he couldn't be charged with anything. Erin was mortified that if not for her friend it would have been her being raped in that video. She didn't do anything so stupid afterwards and Catherine swore that that nightmare of a party in their senior year knocked some serious sense into Erin, but apparently not enough.

Erin tried to laugh off her friends serious tone but her voice cracked and Catherine and Tori could tell it was forced. Tori started to look as worried as Catherie felt. "Erin, you didn't do anything dangerous, right? C'mon, you can't play around with supernatural stuff like this, you know that right?" Erin smiled at her friends but tears welled up in her eyes and started sliding down her cheeks despite her cheerful grin. Catherine, not being able to wait any longer, walked over to her friend and grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her a little.

"Erin! What's wrong? What did you do?! Tell us and we might be able to fix it!" she tried to get her crying friend to tell her what was wrong but Erin just shook her head and started crying harder and choking out things neither Tori or Catherine could understand. Finally after crying for god knows how long she got something out that they could both understand, "He won't stop until I pay him back." after that she broke back into hysterical sobs. Catherine shook her again to bring her back to attention and said, "Is that what this is all about? Money? Erin if you owe somebody money then I'll call Daddy and maybe he can help you."

Erin's crying slowed enough for her to say shakily, "No, he doesn't want money. He wants me. And everything I love." Catherine and Tori were horrified by that statement and Tori started to wipe her crying friends tears away. "Erin, what kind of drama did you get yourself into? It sounds like a pimp is after you." she tried to make a joke to clear the tense air but nobody laughed. Erin just continued to cry and Catherine just led her near comatose form over to the couch and made her sit down before heading back to her room. "Catherine what? Where are you going?" asked a worried Tori. Without looking back she replied, "I'm getting dressed and then we're taking Erin to the police station to get her some help and protection from this guy that's got her so scared." Tori gulped but nodded before going to put her shoes back on.

Catherine raced to her room and sighed before putting her suit from earlier back on. She was worried about what kind of trouble Erin got herself into this time and hoped it was nothing too bad. She breifly checked herself over in the mirror before heading back into the living room, she found Tori hugging a still crying Erin on the couch. She absently noted Tori put hers and Erin's shoes back on while she was getting dressed. Heaving another sigh Catherine picked up her purse and told Tori to bring Erin with them to the car. The minute Erin and Tori stood up all the lights in the apartment flickered off for a second before flickering back on. Catherine whirled around to face Erin when she started sobbing uncontrolably. Tori was rubbing her back and cooing softly to try and get her to calm down but it wasn't working. And then Erin said something that chilled Catherine to the bone.

"Oh god. He's here."


	3. She is neither Here nor There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is the chapter where rape happens. not at all explicit but i'm gonna warn you anyways.

**Reality Rain-check**

**CHAPTER 02**

**By: The Mistress~**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

"Oh god. He's here."

Erin gasped in horror and stilled completely for a brief second before she harshly pushed herself out of Tori's arms. She ran back into the living room, leaving her two friends confused and a little scared behind her. Catherine broke from her shock first and sighed. She adjusted her purse on her shoulder before rushing after her friend with Tori trailing right behind her.

They found Erin frantically rummaging around in her large bag looking for something and making frustrated sounds. She couldn't seem to find what she was looking for in her panicked state so she turned her bag upside down and started dumping its contents onto the middle of the floor. A book fell from the bag and landed with a 'thud' on the wooden floor. Erin let out a crow of triumph when she picked up the old leather bound book. She hugged it to her chest like it was her child before darting past her two very confused friends and into the kitchenette.

She tore open cabinets and drawers, shuffling through them all desperately looking for something. Tori and Catherine just watched her from the kitchen doorway, both silently wondering if their friend lost her mind. They both jumped suddenly in shock when Erin yelled out happily while she gripped a box of salt in her hand like it was a trophy. This just confounded Catherine and Tori more than they already were. Before either woman could utter a confused query Erin dashed past them once again, this time heading for the living room.

Catherine and Tori watched their friend push the couch and coffee table to the corners of the room so the middle was bare. Erin delicately sat the old leather book down on the couch before opening the salt container and slowly drawing a large circle in the middle of the hardwood floor. Catherine didn't know how to handle any of this. She couldn't just stand by and watch her friend go crazy. So she pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911, hoping they could bring an ambulance or some cops to help her friend. She hit send and waited, watching as Erin started on drawing a square inside the circle. She make sure each corner of the square was touching some part of the circle.

 _"Hello. 911 operator, what is the nature of your emergency?"_  said the emotionless female operator.

"Yes, hello, I think my friend needs to go to a hospital, she's acting really weird and it's scaring me and and my other friend Tori." she said in a rush. Meanwhile Erin finished making the salt circle and tossed the empty container aside and pulled her friends into the circle and told them to stay inside it.

 _"What's your name miss?"_  asked the operator.

"My name's Catherine Bennett." she wished the woman would just skip passed all the protocol bullshit and help her friend. Catherine missed what the operator said next because when the lights flickered on and off again Erin screamed in real fear, drowning out the operators monotone voice.

 _"Hello? Hello miss? Who was that screaming? Are you in trouble?"_  the operator started to sound a bit worried.

Catherine was about to answer her but Erin started breathing heavily, her hands started to shake, and she paled dramatically. She looked like she was having a panic attack. Tori and Catherine were afraid she was going to faint so they both started toward her to catch her just in case she fainted but backed up when Erin suddenly screamed, "No! DO NOT, under ANY circumstance, leave that circle or you WILL die!"

 _"Miss! What is going on? Where are you? I can't send help for you if you don't tell me where you are!"_ Catherine felt like sobbing but knew it wouldn't help the situation. So with half of her focus on her friend and the other on the operator Catherine said, "We're at Bowstone Hill Apartments on the corner of 40th Street and 2nd, near Park Avenue and the East River! Apartment number fifteen!" Catherine felt a cold chill creep into her bones but didn't know where the cold came from.

 _"Miss? Remain calm and stay in the apartment, I'm sending an ambulance and some officers over."_  the now fully unnerved operator yelled on the other end of the phone. But Tori and Catherine were too distracted by Erin's worrying state to hear her. Erin was close to full out hyperventilating. She knew she didn't have time to make a proper protection circle so she settled with making a temporary one.

She had just enough time to show Catherine and Tori how to make it stronger but that was it. She picked up the book and turned it so both Tori and Catherine could see the page she was on. It had a small representation of the circle they were standing on in it.

"Okay you two, listen!" When she was sure they were both paying attention she started going through a brief run through of the instructions. She told them they were standing in your basic witches power circle, it was a basic spell circle. It could be applied to many different types of spells. All you needed to differentiate between the different spells were the spoken words and the amount of blood used. Some spells required more than blood, like herbs or crystals, but all spells no matter how big or small required some amount of the castors blood.

Erin explained that all they had to do was drip four and  **only**  four drops of blood in the circle, and then recite the words from the marked page in the book. Erin figured that the spell was so simple that there was no way for it to mess up. With that out of the way Erin tried to remember if she was forgetting anything. She gasped when she remembered that they would need something to prick their fingers with for the blood part of the spell.

She made sure to tell them once again not to leave the circle. She rushed back over to her things that were strewn on the floor and started looking through them for a particular object. After looking and looking she started to fret that she'd left it back at her dorm but just as she thought that she found it. 'It' being a medium size silver switch blade with a pearl grip and swirling flower details. She found it one day in an old antique shop and fell in love with it. She knew she just had to have it for her rituals.

She grabbed the switchblade and her small bag of rose quarts crystals just to give her friends an extra boost. She figured with her not going to be alive for much longer that somebody should get some use from them. And them being used to help her friends seemed like a good cause.

She pressed the hidden button on the switch blade and smiled when it opened with a soft click. She sighed and smiled at her friends before handing the open book with the bag of crystals on top to Catherine and the silver knife to Tori. She knew  **he**  would be there any second and wanted to say goodbye to her two best friends before  **he**  arrived for her.

"Catherine~ Tori~ I'm sorry I dragged you both into this." Tori opened her mouth to speak but Erin cut her off. "Please you guys, let me just say what I have to okay? I really don't have much time and I need to get this out." Catherine and Tori both shared an apprehensive glance but Catherine nodded for her to continue.

Erin took a deep shuddering breath and gave them both a teary smile. "I know if I don't tell you both now how much I love you guys I'll never get the chance. And I do love you both, you are my two best and closest friends in the world and I'm sad we didn't get more time together. Now I know you're both wondering what's going on and why I'm acting so crazy yeah?" She received two hesitant nods so continued.

"To put it simply...I summoned a demon." Catherine gasped in horror and Tori's mouth hung open in shock. If the situation weren't so deathly serious Erin would have found their expressions funny. Both girls were too shocked to say anything so Erin plowed on. "I know I'm really stupid. I didn't even want to really, I just wanted to see if I could." She was going to say more but the sound of a light bulb bursting from the other side of the apartment halted anymore conversation. Her time was almost up, she had to hurry.

Erin dearly wished there was a spell in her families spell book to turn back time. If there was then she could go back and stop herself from ever doing that dark ritual. She knew performing dark 'majiks' was like playing with fire. But at the time she was too arrogant to realize how much trouble she as getting into. She figured that if anything bad were to happen then all she'd have to do was open her families spell book and  _voila~_ there would be a spell to save her. But there wasn't.

She'd accidentally summoned an  _incubare_ , or in English...an incubus.

She hadn't meant for any of this to happen. She'd only done the summoning to see if she actually could. To see if she had enough power to summon demon. Even a simple low level one. And if it turned out she could then she was going to banish it right afterwards. But she made a mistake. The spell she found was too powerful and instead of summoning something simple like a pinion snake she summoned a woman's worst nightmare. An incubus. A demon with the sole purpose of raping women.

When she realized just what she'd brought forth she panicked and tried to destroy the sacred spell circle so the spell would cancel itself. When the demon vanished from sight she thought she was safe and that it was gone. But unbeknownst to her the incubus scented her as it was sent away, and with her scent it could find her no matter where she tried to hide.

And in the weeks following the disastrous summoning weird things started happening around her. It was little things at first; odd noises at night, strange scents assaulting her. But she figured it was only a wandering spirit, so she burned some sage to cleanse her dorm room and afterwards everything went back to normal.

For a time anyways. Then things really got scary. Things would move when her back was turned, lights around her would flicker on and off, and all of her electronics eventually went on the fritz. It terrified her to the point where she left her dorm and got a hotel room. But it didn't stop, it followed her there too. And she knew her sage and protection spells and crystals would hold him off for only so long.

A week prior Tori told her that she was going to be leaving school for a few days to attend her great aunt Lillian's funeral. She also mentioned stopping by Catherine's place for a visit. Erin saw it as an opportunity to see her best friends one last time so she asked her if she could go with her. Tori thought that it would be fun to surprise Catherine with a slumber party.

They left the next day.

**POP!**

Another light bulb shattering in the apartment broke Erin from her thoughts and alerted her to how close  **he** was. He would be there in the living room with them any second.

Erin hastily grabbed Catherine's hand and took the switchblade and nicked her finger before handing it back to a surprised Tori. Catherine cried out more from shock than any actual pain and fearfully watched Erin squeeze her finger and drip two drops of blood at their feet. Tori and Catherine almost screamed when the salt circle glowed a faint white before going back to normal.

Tori and Catherine were really scared. They believed Erin when she said she summoned a demon. They both knew she wouldn't lie or joke about something so serious. And Catherine knew now that the ' **he** ' her friend said was coming to get her was in fact said demon. And the thought of a monster from Hell coming and taking her friend terrified her more than anything in the world.

Catherine's whole body shivered when suddenly the temperature in the room felt like it dropped to 10 below. She looked at her two friends and saw them shivering just as badly as she was, and she noticed that they could all see the puffs of their breath now. Tori jumped when the tv flicked on suddenly, showing a screen full of silent static.

Tori and Catherine unknowingly huddled closer together in the protection circle in fear. All three women screamed when the lights in the room exploded all at once. The only light in the room now was from the snow filled tv and the bright moon shining in from outside the window.

For a stagnant moment the room was almost mute, the tv wasn't even making any sound. The sole bit of sound was coming from Erin. Her near hyperventilated breathing was alarmingly loud in the hushed apartment. And then another almost unnoticeable din started mixing with Erin's heavy breathing. Catherine thought it sounded almost exactly like when air is slowly released from a bottle of soda after you shake it then slowly turn the cap.

The med student was wondering where the low sound was coming from when Tori all at once painfully gripped her arm. Catherine gasped in discomfort and looked at her friend and saw her staring wide eyed at the dark hallway. She didn't see anything at first but after a second of squinting and letting her eyes adjust to the dark area she saw it.

And when she did every single hair on her body stood on end at the sight of such a horrifying creature.

You couldn't really see anything other than a basic outline and the two white rings that were its irises. Its hands ended in unnaturally long claws that were faintly twitching like it was anxious to move. You could barely distinguish the black skin of the creature from the pitch dark hallway it was loitering in. There was almost no contrast, it was reminiscent to a silhouette standing on a black backdrop. Everything about the creature was black save for its eyes, which could only be compared to an owls eyes. They were uncannily wide and unblinking. And they were staring directly at Erin.

Time seemed to freeze. Or at least slow to an unbearable snails pace. Nobody and nothing in the room moved in those moments. And then a split second later time distorted. It seemed to be going in fast forward.

Catherine blinked and the creature and Erin were gone. She thought they had disappeared. But then she registered Erin's agonized screams. She and Tori whipped their heads to look at the opposite corner of the room where the demon was literally tearing into Erin. From where they stood they could only see the back of the creature and parts of Erin. But what parts of her you could see were covered in deep gashes exuding blood.

Tori couldn't just stand there and watch some monster kill her friend so without thinking she roughly handed the still open switchblade to Catherine and went to step out of the circle. It didn't even cross her mind that she had handed a weapon to her friend that she could have used on the creature. Her mind was so riddled with terror that she was unable to form any real cognitive thought.

Catherine absently caught the knife before it fell but in the process it sliced open her palm. A steady stream of blood filtered onto the book and to the floor beneath them. She didn't pick up on her injury. She was too pumped full of adrenaline to feel anything, not even the pain of a knife slicing her flesh.

Catherine was openly weeping as she was forced to watch the demon lacerated Erin. It was a horrifying spectacle. Catherine couldn't figure out how things had shifted so drastically. The night changed from her watching silly anime cartoons with demons in them with her friends to her watching an actual demon rape and murder one of her best friends.

She was petrified of the creature cruelly tearing her friend apart and desperately wanted to stop it. But she was also able to recognize that she was in no way shape or form a match for a demon and stepping out of the protection circle Erin made for them was like committing suicide. So when Tori foolishly stepped out of the circle Catherine dropped everything and shot out to try and pull her back in.

She only managed to grab a hold of the edge of her hoodie before Tori slid out of it. Time seemed to stop its fast forwarding motion and slowed down again after Tori left the circle. Catherine helplessly watched the demon drop Erin's naked and mangled body and leap for the now exposed Tori.

Catherine could hear frightened screams but didn't know where they was coming from. She didn't affirm that it was her that was screaming her lungs out as the demon attacked Tori's helpless form.

Tori didn't even have time to scream before the demon was using its spindly claws to tear her throat out. Though no screams escaped her a few bloody gurgles sounded from the interstice in her throat. And the monster just went from there, ruthlessly clawing and rendering Tori's body until it finally raped her.

There was an over abundance of blood everywhere. There were splatters on the walls, huge puddles on the floor, and some even managed to get into the walls of the adjoining kitchen.

The creature promptly dropped Tori's broken body when it was done and stood up. Catherine stood stock still as the creature turned its sights on her. She distantly noted that when the demon made any movement its body made odd noises; like it was in rigor mortise but was forced to move. It was a creaky sound, almost like ice cracking.

It just stood there watching her while she watched it in return. Eventually Catherine's eyes started to strain and she had to blink. And after she did the demon was instantly in front of her. It was so abrupt and unexpected that she screamed and fell back on her ass.

She was sprawled in the middle of the salt circle on her ass while an incubus that just ferociously raped and butchered both of her friends was less that four feet away. Needless to say she was trembling with abject consternation. She flinched when the demon brought his lanky hand up and tapped one of his spindly nails against what looked like glass. She hadn't noticed it earlier. It seemed to only shine when it was being touched and disappeared when it wasn't.

Catherine's eyes widened in awe when she saw that the demon couldn't get into the circle. It hissed angrily and tapped its nail harder against the barrier but it didn't budge or shatter; it only crackled with what looked like electricity. Catherine couldn't believe Erin's circle was holding off the demon.

'It's a miracle!' she couldn't help but think with wonder.

Her wonder soon turned to alarm when the demon pressed forward as hard as it could and ignoring the electric stings managed to get the tip of its nail into the barrier. Catherine cried out in fright when it pushed harder and got a few more centimeters of its nail inside.

It was gradually managing to get itself in. And it was going to do to her what it did to Tori and Erin if she didn't do something and fast.

Frantically and with some trepidation she looked around her and saw her fallen items. Her Marc Jacobs satchel and the little bag of crystals, a the switchblade and spell book Erin gave them. 'Just me now.' she thought with despair. She knew there was nothing in her purse that would stop a demon. She figured the pepper spray would just piss it off. The crystals seemed pretty useless. And the knife wouldn't stop him but it might slow him down a tiny bit. But she would be dead long before she could do any amount of real damage to it.

That left the spell book. 'Didn't Erin say something about strengthening this protection circle?' she remembered with hope. The book was laying open next to her. She picked it up to the page it landed on and looked at the circle drawn there. She looked from the drawing of the circle to the one below her and breathed a sigh of relief. They were the same circle. She didn't think she'd be able to find the right spell in time if it had turned out to be on the wrong page.

But what Catherine forgot was that the circle doesn't change very much in spells. Erin specifically told her that it was the words to cast the spell that differed. But Catherine can be forgiven for making such an error. And really, it is very distracting to have an incubus trying to get to her so it can mutilate her. Mistakes are expected during such a hectic time in ones life.

After all, if she didn't mess up this bit her life would go into a completely different and less interesting direction.

Catherine looked up from the book and shrieked when she saw the demon had its whole hand in the circle now. So with vigor Catherine read the Latin words next to the drawing as best she could with tears still swimming in her eyes. After she spoke the last syllable of the last word there was a loud whooshing sound. Like wind over a turbulent sea. The med student watched as the glass barrier shimmered and tightened around the demons hand. She vindictively savored the demons freakish hisses and screams as its hand was sliced off.

The severed extremity landed between her feet with a sick  _thud_. Catherine looked from the hand to the incubus and shuddered in revulsion when it glared at her. It opened its mouth and growled at her. And its mouth was something straight from nightmares. When it was closed it looked like the thing didn't even have a mouth. But when it opened it split its face clean in half, showing rows upon rows of razor sharp needles. All you had to do to envision its mouth was imagine someone combining a sharks and angler fishes mouth's together.

It practically screamed abomination.

Catherine closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. She was finally safe. She reopened her eyes to see the demon on the other side of the barrier blur. It looked like the demon was under water. She didn't know what was going on but the blockade turned more opaque than previously. And then it emulsified into a amalgam of color that darkened until it went black.

Catherine didn't know what was happening. And she was scared the spell was messing up. And if it did then she was metaphorically screwed. She would be literally screwed if that demon got his claws on her. She trembled at the notion of the demon getting her. Especially after she fought so desperately to get away.

Soon the climate around her shifted to a more frigid degree. Still clueless to everything around her Catherine watched the dark enclosure fade from view. The first thing Catherine ascertained from her now unobstructed field of vision was that the demon was gone. She sucked in a lungful of icy air then laughed it out in abated bliss.

When she came down from her relief induced high she became aware of everything else.

Like the fact she was sitting in a dark alley.

In an area she was one hundred percent unfamiliar with to boot.

It was at that point that she began to quake with undisguised alarm. She could feel herself start to slip into a state of hysteria. After everything that happened to her it was a surprise it hadn't happened sooner. The fear, the terror, the horrific sights she was forced to endure. She knew what she witnessed would haunt her forever.

She was about to lose it. She could feel the panic attack coming on. But she hadn't attended so many classes on medicine for nothing. Even in her unstable state she could recognize the symptoms.

-Feelings of having a lack of control?  _*check_  
-A racing heart?  _*check_  
-Troubled breathing?  _*check_  
-Intense chest pains?  _*check_

Yes, Catherine was on the verge of a full out panic attack. But thankfully she knew how to stop one too. So as calmly as possible she sat back against the building next to her. The cold bricks helped her focus on something. Then she started her deep breathing exercises. Taking steady deep breaths through her diaphragm.

 _Iiiin_. And out.  _Iiiiin_. And out.  _Iiiin_. And out.

It took a long time but eventually her heart rate returned back to a normal tempo. Catherine knew that she couldn't stay in this alley forever. She had to man up and find out where she was. People were going to wonder where she disappeared to. Hell, people were going to wonder what happened in her apartment.

Catherine knew there was no way anyone was going to believe her when she told them what really happened there. They were probably going to try and pin Tori and Erin's murders on her. Just the thought of a judge and jury convicting her to spend the rest of her natural life in jail worried Catherine. And that was only if she didn't receive the death sentence.

And if they didn't send her to prison then they'd send her to a mental institution. Because in the long run, anyone who rants and raves about a demon coming into their home and raping and mutilating their friends was obviously insane.

With quivering limbs Catherine gathered the book and bag of crystals and carefully wedged them into her purse. She picked up the switchblade next. She examined its beautiful craftsmanship in the dull moonlight before sliding it closed and slipping it into her pocket.

She mustered the strength to get to her knees before she had to halt. She took measured breaths and was ready to try standing again so she could get out of the alley and flag down a car. She happened to glance down at a discarded newspaper by her but dismissed it. But then the date on the newspaper finally got through her addled mind and registered in her brain. She snatched the dirty paper up and shakily brought it up to her face and re read the disturbing paper. It read:

~THE TIMES-August 12th 1882~

She got as far as the date before she was finally overloaded with too much and couldn't handle any more. She wordlessly collapsed into a heap on the ground.

Just seconds before the darkness managed to consumed her vision she heard a woman's voice calling for help.


	4. Unexpected Things Everywhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> whole new world

**Reality Rain-check**

**CHAPTER 03**

**By: The Mistress~**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

 

Catherine could feel herself gradually emerging from the black void that was unconsciousness. And with that slow wakefulness came voices. Namely two female voices. And they were arguing about something.

"Ya canna just bring sum strange fille ya find on tha streets home!" the first spoke harshly in a thick Scottish brogue.

"Well I couldn't just leave her there! Who knows what could have happened to her Elisa!" the second said in defense. Her English was mostly clear, though she sounded sad.

"Ya, but thas not ar' problem! And have ya seen this queer thing?! She's dress-ed like a man an'er possessions were just as queer as she!" the Scottish woman hissed in displeasure.

Catherine only half listened to the Scottish woman and her friend argue a bit more before she groaned. The two women went silent after hearing her wake. She slowly opened her eyes and peered at the room around her. She couldn't see much since the room was only bathed in the weak light of a lone candle.

But she could make out the two other inhabitants of the room. Two petite women in old fashioned dresses. They both sported heavy makeup and had a general scruffiness to them. One was taller with orange hair while the other was a blonde. They were both watching her curiously. Though the taller one seemed wary of her.

Catherine went to speak but only managed to cough. Her throat was bone dry. After swallowing a few times she finally moistened her throat enough to talk.

"W-Where am I?" she spoke in soft tones. The smaller of the women walked forward and told her she was in a town called Welling and that they found her passed out in an alley.

"Not a very smart place to end up, eh?" the smaller said. Catherine felt a cold numbness grip her heart. All at once the previous days memories came flooding back to her with tremendous force. She felt her eyes begin to water when she recalled the brutal death of her two closest friends. As she was trying to digest all that had happened to her she reflexively reached her hand up to toy with her necklace only to discover it was gone.

She gasped and reached up higher and felt her ears. Both of her earring were missing as well. She scowled and turned to the two women in the room with her. The smaller looked the teeniest bit ashamed as she looked away but the other one was casually looking out of the rooms dark window. Not a hint of remorse on her freckled face.

Catherine felt righteous anger surge through her. After everything that had happened to her, after everything she'd just gone through she wakes up to her things having been stolen. Her rage mounted and bubbled up within her. She glared at the two women and said in a cold tone,

"Where's my jewelry?!" The smaller woman faltered a moment and said, "Oh your things...well they-" she was cut off by the Scottish woman. "When we foun' ya, ya dinne have anythin' with ya. Ye were mugged mos'likely-"

"LIAR!" Catherine knew they were lying. She remembered hearing them talking about how 'queer' her stuff was when they thought she was passed out. They were lying right in her face. And Catherine absolutely _hated_  being lied to.

The timid one spoke up to try and defend her friend. "No she isn't. We really don't know-" but she was soon cut off again. Catherine stood up quickly, ignoring the way her head throbbed from the action.

"I heard you talking about my stuff! So tell me where my things are! Now!" She rudely kicked the chair that sat next to the bed straight across the room. Both women flinched at the noise but said nothing. Catherine was getting frustrated and decided enough was enough. She lunged for the smaller brunette and grabbed her by her hair. She yelped in pain when Catherine twisted her arm behind her back and tugged on her hair.

The Scottish woman stepped forward to stop her but halted when Catherine twisted the brunettes arm higher, making her cry out in pain. Catherine looked right into the Scottish woman's eyes and hissed out, "Give me my things now or I will break her arms." Catherine didn't really want to hurt anyone but she would if it came down to it.

The Scotswoman paused and weighed her options before sighing and said, "Fine, I be right back." She went to the wardrobe in the corner of the room and plucked Catherine's bag from the bottom where it was hidden beneath some clothes.

Without warning the Scotswoman threw the bag at Catherine to distract her. She ran forward to try and tackle Catherine to the ground but the former med students years of martial arts training prepared her for such things. She caught her bag with one hand and swiftly punched her in the nose with the other. The Scotswoman's head jerked to the side before she fell to the floor with a groan.

She was writhing on the floor in too much pain to do much else. Catherine turned baleful eyes to the other woman and said, "Now, where the hell is my jewelry?" The small woman turned fearful eyes to Catherine before hurrying back to the wardrobe. She pulled a small wooden jewelry box from one of the drawers and handed it to the still angry Catherine. She was hoping that after getting her things back Catherine would leave. But she was mistaken.

And Catherine would feel bad for doing this later but right then she was feeling too pissed to care. She first checked to make sure both her necklace and earrings were there before she demanded, "I'm going to need something to wear. I can't exactly go around dressed like this can I?"

The brunette tried to tell her no but it just came out a stuttered mess of syllables. Catherine was nearing the end of her patience with the woman. She finally just barked out a 'Hurry up!', making the small woman jump in fear before hustling back to the wardrobe. She started pulling out dresses and long skirts and shirts. And all manner of other things Catherine was unfamiliar with. But it didn't matter. She was more concerned with her more futuristic items.

As the woman did that Catherine opened her satchel and went through it to make sure nothing was missing. She looked into every compartment her purse had and finally she was satisfied that all was where it should be.

After her inspection was done Catherine walked over and picked out what she thought would fit her from the proffered clothing. She settled on just a red dress, two dark skirts, and a white shirt. And what looked like a waist corset.

She noticed a white ruffly skirt and a pair of white capree looking pants. She couldn't for the life of her remember what they were called. She vaguely remembered watching cartoons where women from this time wore them under their dresses. So without batting an eye she picked them both up and wrapped all the clothes in one of the skirts, forming a makeshift sack.

The petite brunette had a sour look on her face. She was no doubt mad that a strange woman she didn't know was stealing her things. Catherine smirked at the delicious irony and said, "Yes, it's not a very good feeling is it? Having your things stolen from you." The brunette flushed shamefully and looked down at the floor.

"But I suppose you can comfort yourself with knowing that your clothes aren't worth even a fraction of what _just_  my necklace cost." The brunette didn't say anything so Catherine took her bag and new clothes and left out of the room. She had no idea where the exit was so she just followed her gut. Which led her down a flight of stairs into a bar looking place.

She ran as quietly as possible to the door but found it locked. She curse her bad luck. She didn't want to be there when the Scottish woman woke up so she went over to the window and found it unlocked. She quietly cheered and opened it, slipping unnoticed out into the cold night air. But she stilled when she heard a shrill scream. She looked up and saw the Scottish woman leaning out of her window. No doubt looking for the missing Catherine. And her clothes.

Catherine held perfectly still against the wall behind her, and when the woman yelled and slammed the shutters of their window closed in vexation she knew it was safe to move again.

Catherine knew she had to stay calm and think rationally. She couldn't risk having a freak out. God knows what would happen to her if she did. She'd read books in her time on what they did to sick people in the Victorian era. Everything was backwards and barbaric here. After all they still practiced foolish phony cures like 'bloodletting' and 'heroin cough suppressants'.

And that was for the people who were just physically ill. Never mind what they did to mentally ill people. Everything from people coming into asylums to view the patients like they were animals in a zoo to the patients being bound in ropes and chains. The cruelty those sick people endured until the turn of the century was phenomenal.

But Catherine knew if she dwelled on the bad part of her current situation too long she'd just panic and put herself on the verge of another panic attack. So she took a few soothing deep breaths and started walking. She didn't know where she was going exactly but she knew she couldn't stay where she was. And she also knew that walking around in pants was a no-no. Women of this time wore dresses and skirts. Which she thought to be incredibly stupid but oh well.

Catherine stumbled over one of the cobblestones in the street and knew she was going to have to find a more practical pair of shoes soon. Her red heels were murdering her feet. "Why oh why couldn't I have worn boots or sneakers instead of these ridiculous heels?" she whimpered in pain as her heeled feet hit the cobbled street below her.

When she felt she got a safe enough distance away from those two women's home she sat her things down before plopping down next to them. She couldn't just keep wandering around. She had to have a plan.

'But to do what?' she wondered with trepidation. She had a barest idea of where she was and no money or anything. The only thing she knew for certain was that it was some time in 1882 and she was currently in a town called Welling. She had no idea what country she was in or anything useful. She felt so lost and alone. She couldn't tell anyone what happened to her or what she was going through. She would have to carry this burden by herself.

She blinked back hot tears and stood back up. She knew it was unsafe to loiter in alleys so she continued walking. She walked down two more streets and was about to turn a corner onto a third but stopped cold. She just heard Erin cry out.

But no, wait. That was impossible. Erin was dead. But whoever was making those pitiful noises sounded just like Erin.

They sounded just like Erin as she was being horrifically defiled by Satan's offspring.

But...Erin was dead. So she couldn't be making those woeful sounds. But someone was. Someone was being  _raped_.

Someone was being raped less than 20 or so feet from where she was standing. She couldn't seem to comprehend that thought. So she didn't think.

She acted.

She grit her teeth together and tore into the next street. It was vacant but she could still hear those God awful noises. They were coming from the adjacent alley. She ran to the mouth of the alley and almost retched right there.

There was a man hovering over a small boy. The boy looked no older than seven. The man had his pants around his ankles and was holding a small child up by the scruff of his tattered shirt. The poor child was trying his best to squirm free but to no avail. Any time he got even a teeny bit free the man just shook him to make him still.

The man hadn't even noticed her yet. He just went on his merry way, abusing a poor defenseless child for his own disgusting sexual gratification.

Catherine was rooted to her spot. She knew she had to do something to save the boy but her brain couldn't seem to get its signal to move down to her legs. But then the unaware man grabbed the child by his throat and slammed him face first into the brick wall behind them.

He grabbed the child's pants and tore them off.

Catherine snapped.

She remembered everything that happened afterwards, but not on a personal level. She felt like she was playing a first person video game. Or more like she was watching one of her favorite gory horror movies. She saw herself, but not "'herself' herself" pull the silver switchblade from her coat pocket. Then she watched as she dropped her things and ran up behind the vile man and stabbed him square in the back.

She watched the man scream in pain and drop the frightened boy. The boy scrambled to pull his pants up and scoot backwards away from the two adults. He watched as everything unfolded before him.

Catherine didn't stop there. She stabbed him again and again, just for good measure. Over and over until the mans corpse slumped lifelessly against the grimy wall. He no longer screamed or thrashed or moved. The only thing he did now was bleed. His blood poured from him and traveled down between the cracks in the street underneath.

When Catherine came back into herself she felt wetness on her face and thought she was crying. But when she reached her hand up to wipe the tears away she noticed it was blood. That mans blood. She knew she should have felt remorse, guilt,  _anything_  like that. But the only thing she felt after killing that worthless monstrosity was a numb sense of gratification.

'I shouldn't feel guilty for getting rid of a pedophile rapist and saving a child.' she reasoned with herself.

She broke from her musings when whimpers reached her ears. She looked over and caught sight of the little boy she'd saved. She wasn't an expert on dealing with rape victims but she knew she couldn't leave him here alone. It was cold, and he was obviously scared. So she closed her knife then slipped it back in her pocket and got down on her knees. She remembered watching on tv that when dealing with a small frightened animal it was best to be on equal ground as them. Never be taller, that is perceived as a threat.

He was watching her with wide brown eyes that were raining tears down his dirty cheeks. She smiled as gently as she could and asked him. "Honey, are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

Neither of them moved for some time, they just watched each other. And when he let out a sob she thought she'd frightened him too bad. But then he ran at her and wrapped his arms around her neck. He started sobbing brokenly into her shoulder. She tensed up at first, uncertain of what to do. But then inner mother surfaced, her eyes softened and she wrapped her arms around the pitiable little thing. She was trying her damnedest to simple hug his pain away.

She rubbed his back, rocked him back and forth, soothed his body wracking cries with soft words cooed in his hair. After a while his sobs calmed into nothing more than hiccups. But he didn't let go, he kept his thin arms locked around her neck. He acted like if he let go then she would disappear.

"Honey, where are you parents? Do you want me to walk you back home?" she asked in a tender voice. She waited for him to answer but he didn't speak for a long time. But at last he spoke. It was quiet and emotionless.

"I don't have a mummy or daddy. I'm an orphan." Had they met under different circumstances Catherine would have gushed over his thick patois. But sadly they were introduced in the midst of a dreadful situation. And it just broke Catherine's heart to know this little innocent had no one to comfort and care for him during this undeserving waterloo.

Catherine felt her throat constrict as she held back a sob of her own. There was no way she could abandon him now, not after what he'd just gone through. Not while knowing he had no food, no home, no parents, no family. She hugged the boy tighter to her and acted on pure impulse. She spoke faintly through her unsteady breathing, "I'll be your mommy."

The boy stiffened in her hold before he said in a small vulnerable voice, "Really?"

Catherine couldn't hold it in any longer. She cried. She clutched the boy,  _her boy_ , to her chest and cried her eyes out. All the while nodding and chanting 'yes' to her new son. She cried for the little boy, for sweet Erin, for kind Tori, and she cried for herself. She weeped until her throat burned from the strain of all her convulsive crying. And just as she calmed and composed herself _her boy_  said the sweetest thing her ears ever heard. It was so sweet she almost broke down again. Almost.

"Don't be sad mummy."

TBC~!


	5. Getting Out of Dodge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Catherine and Adam to book it out of that one horse town.

**Reality Rain-check**

**CHAPTER 04**

**By: The Mistress**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

 

"Don't be sad Mummy." Catherine sucked in a breath of cold air to calm herself. She laughed for a second when she realized she had just become the proud mother of a bouncing baby boy.

'It didn't even hurt.' she thought with amusement. She let go of the boy and held him out at arm length to get a better look at him. She could see him fairly well with all the moonlight shining down on them. He had shaggy brown hair and light brown eyes. He looked a bit gaunt though. Most likely from lack of food, he did say he was an orphan after all.

He was filthy and had tear tracks running down his cheeks and his nose was running but Catherine thought he was beautiful. She could feel herself frown when she thought of how close he'd come to being violated in a dingy alley. And if the man was ballsy enough to rape a child in an open alley then he was probably going to kill him afterwards.

Catherine gulped when that thought passed through her head. But then the reality of her situation pressed down on her. She had just stabbed a man to death in front of a small child. She looked down at herself and saw she had dots of blood on her suit pants and shirt. None got on her suit jacket though. And if any managed to get on her black jacket then you couldn't tell.

She stood up and grabbed the boys hand and led him to the mouth of the alley. She told him to wait right there while she picked her dropped bag and clothes. She handed him her wad of clothes while she went through her purse. She pulled out her compact mirror and pressed the button on the side to pop it open. She grimaced at her reflection. She had speckles of blood decorating her face.

She pulled an old napkin from her purse and licked it and wiped the blood from her face and neck. It came off pretty easily, which she was thankful for. But she wasn't going to be able to get the blood out of her shirt or pants. She supposed the fact that she needed to change was now a good thing because a woman walking around in pants was weird to people here.

She was about to grab the boys hand and start running but stopped; she realized she never got his name. She couldn't call him boy forever. So she turned and asked him what his name was.

"Matron called me Adam Mum." Catherine smiled softly at her son. At Adam. She figured this 'Matron' was from the orphanage. "What a perfect name sweetheart." Adam smiled widely in return. Catherine was about to take Adam and abandon the dead mans body but a thought struck her. She wondered if the man had anything useful on him. She instructed Adam to stand guard at the mouth of the alley.

While he did as he was told Catherine hurried over to the fresh corpse. She steeled her nerves and slowly reached her hand into his first coat pocket. She jumped a bit when her hand came into contact with metal. She tried to pull it from the mans pocket but part of it got stuck. But it didn't matter. She could see enough of it to know what it was.

It was a pistol. She felt nervous all of a sudden. Which was ridiculous considering she'd just stabbed a man to death. So holding a gun should be no problem. But it felt odd to her in a way. The gun was much heavier than the knife she'd used. She glanced around her, suddenly wary of someone looking out their window and seeing her.

Catherine didn't know if she should take the gun or not. She didn't even know if it was loaded. She decided to check, so she fumbled with it for a moment. She was careful to point the barrel in the direction opposite her and Adam while she clumsily searched for how to check for bullets. After a few frustrated attempts she got the cylinder open and saw that it was fully loaded. She carefully flipped it closed again and sat it on the ground next to her. She decided she would take it to protect her and Adam. She figured that she'd much rather play it safe than end up sorry.

Feeling a little bolder after successfully raiding his first pocket she reached into his other one. In it she found a small bag of coins. She didn't bother to really look at them, just glanced into the bag before she stuffed them into her coat pocket. She didn't see anymore pockets so she stood up and dusted herself off before carefully picking up the gun and slipping it into her other coat pocket.

She knew it was silly but knowing she was carrying a gun made her walk a bit more confidently. With the deed done, she went back to Adam and grabbed his hand and together they walked down the deserted street. They almost stumbled across a couple drunks but Adam pulled her into a dark alcove and told her to be very quiet. He said it was dangerous at night for women and children. Catherine frowned and recalled how she found him, she guessed he knew that fact first hand.

After the stumbling drunks passed them by they rushed off in the other direction. Catherine stopped them and pulled Adam into a desolate alley that had a few doors dotting its corners. She told Adam to face the opening of the alley so she could change out of her ruined clothes and into fresh ones. He did as told and kept a look out for any more drunks or people in general.

Catherine sat her things down and shimmeyed out of her clothes but kept her bra and panties on. She slipped on the white capree pants that she couldn't remember the name of before putting on the white petticoat on over it. And finally she put on one of the dark skirts and a white blouse. She made sure the blouse was tucked into the skirt so she looked like a proper lady.

"I don't want to look like those rough ladies from before." she murmured to herself. And then she silently mused that they looked a bit like prostitutes. "They probably were." she murmured again. "I hope these clothes are clean."

She felt odd wearing so many layers but she supposed she was going to have to get used to it. She put her black coat on over her new clothes before folding her original clothes up and hiding them with her new ones. She straightened herself out and slipped her feel back into her shoes before she started walking back to Adam.

But a low beeping sound stopped her in her tracks.

Catherine gasped and came to a halt. She could have sworn she'd heard something. Something  **very** familiar.

_*beepbeepbeep*_

She gasped again before tearing her bag open and rifling through it. There near the bottom of her purse lay her phone. She'd forgotten all about it up until this point. The screen was lit up while it continued to beep and flash the words ALARM-6:30am in bold letters and numbers.

Catherine felt her throat constrict in sadness. If none of this had happened then she would be getting ready for another day of interning right then. She'd be bustling around showering then getting dressed and eating leftover pizza for breakfast while Tori and Erin slept in the living room.

She slid the lock bar on her screen open and watched her phones background come up. It was a picture of her standing in front of the Harvord steps with her mom and dad on either side of her. They all had massive grins on their faces. It had been her first day and they wanted to see her off.

Catherine clutched the phone to her chest and bit her lip to stop herself from bursting into tears again. She'd been doing an awful lot of it since she woke up. She wasn't even sure she had any tears left.

With a heavy heart she turned the phone off and watched the screen go dark. She couldn't afford for it to go off again. Someone might hear it and that would cause her even more trouble than she already had. After all, how would she explain her highly futuristic touch screen cell phone? She shuddered at the thought of people thinking she was a witch of some sort.

She remembered all too clearly the horror stories her history teachers would tell of the Salem Witch Trials. The torture those women suffered all because someone accused them of being a witch. All the accused persons were either hanged, drowned, pressed, burned at the stake, or simply died in prison. Catherine wasn't sure if they still did things like that to women but she didn't want to press her already fragile luck.

Catherine didn't want anything like that to happen to her. She tried to push those thoughts out of her head. She scanned their surrounding and saw the sky was lightening. That meant it was getting close to daylight. And Catherine knew that her and Adam couldn't afford to stay in this town. Not after what she'd done just a short while ago.

They were going to have to leave this town, Welling, and find another to live in. And she was going to have to find a job. She couldn't just kill more men when they needed money. And she only took the man from the alley's money because he wasn't going to need it anymore. Catherine almost felt sick with the knowledge that she was trying to reassure herself that stealing money off a corpse was alright.

She shook it off and tried to think of jobs she could do in this time. She wondered if women were allowed to be doctors yet. She had the training for it after all. And if that turned sour she could always become a nurse or a nanny or something. She always used to babysit for her relatives before she went off to college. And a nurse wasn't too far from being a doctor. It just involved more grunt work.

The sky was beginning to turn a faint pink from the early hour. Catherine gasped when she heard a man yelling. She hauled Adam and herself out of sight behind a large cart. She peeked around and saw a short, chubby man wearing an old fashioned chef hat and apron over dingy brown clothes yelling at someone she couldn't see. The man was obviously a chef of some sort.

And then it hit her. A mouth watering aroma. Fresh baked goods. They made her stomach start growling. She hadn't eaten anything since before the demon attacked. And she felt like she could demolish a whole turkey dinner. She saw the man loading trays of bread and whatnot onto a small pushcart that looked a bit like a wheelburrow but with two wheels instead of one.

Adam must have heard her stomach growl as he looked around because he looked up at her with slightly tired brown eyes and said, "Are ye hungry Mummy?"

Catherine felt herself blush a bit but nodded wordlessly. She felt ashamed. Here she was wanting food when god knows when poor Adam last ate. But Adam just grinned and told her to go talk to the baker. He said he knew how to get her some food. And just before he ran off he hugged her around her waist. Catherine just watched him sprint off. He hadn't even given her a chance to get a syllable out before he was gone.

She sighed and decided to humor him. She ran her fingers through her hair and made herself look presentable because she knew she must look awful. She fixed herself as much as possible before making her way toward the still yelling man.

When his eyes caught sight of her he stopped mid yell. He just stared at her for a few seconds before he caught himself and bowed at the waist. Catherine was confused but tried her best not to let it show. The man straightened up and smiled a crooked smile at her before saying, "Hello m'lady, how can this old baker be of service?"

Catherine thought the man was strange. He acted like he'd never seen a woman before. But what Catherine didn't realize was that she cut quite the fetching picture. Her long dark collinear hair and fair unblemished complexion might not be so rare in the year 2013 but in 1882 it made her quite the vision.

She smiled and unwittingly showed off her perfectly alligned white teeth. The baker figured Catherine must have been a lady of high callibur. After all, none but aristocrasy could produce such beauty.

Catherine panicked for a split second for what to say. She hadn't thought that far ahead. She was only speaking to this man because of Adam, otherwise she'd have steered clear of him. But she decided to just ask something simple.

"Yes, pardon me sir, I was wondering if you might have the time~?" she used as sweet a voice as possible and the man melted like butter.

"Oh yes ma'am. I've got a pocketwatch in me shop. I'll just go get it." the man bowed again before running off into his shop. He was gone no longer than a full minute before he rushed back out. And following right behind him was a man who bore a striking resemblance to the first. Though he was taller and skinnier and had a bushy mustache.

The baker smiled and held open a pocketwatch. It showed it was twenty-six minutes past six in the morning. It was later than Catherine thought. But that was good, it would give her and Adam more time before anyone found the body.

Catherine smiled at both men who grinned identical grins back. It was final, Catherine was positive they were related in some way. Two people couldn't look so much alike without some blood tying them together.

A flash of movement behind both men caught her eye. It was Adam. He was partially hidden behind the side of the two mens shop. He was waving his arm and giving her the international hand sign for 'OK'. She figured her part was done. Now she could go find out just what he was up to.

Catherine thanked the men and was about to walk around them when the taller one spoke up for the first time.

"Ey Miss, ye wanna try one of our biscuits? They'are very good!"

"Oh, I've only got a few coins with me. I'm sure I don't have enough to buy even one of your biscuit."

"Nonesense! This one ye don't pay for because I offered it to ye." the shorter man nodded his head enthusiastically along in agreement.

"Well...if you're sure you don't mind~" Catherine tilted her head low to make herself look bashfull. She supposed it didn't matter what century you were from, men always fell for sweet smiles and innocent looks. The man flushed in embarrassment and ruffled his hair before going to retrieve said biscuit.

Catherine thought that when he said 'biscuit' he meant the kind you have with dinner. But when he came back he was holding a small tray covered in frehly baked cookies. And then she remembered that people called cookies biscuits in England. That must be where she got sent to. Somewhere in the United Kingdom!

Without showing anything on her face but a pleasant smile Catherine took one of the cookies and took a very dainty, lady-like bite. She didn't have to fake liking it though. It was very good. That coupled with the fact that she was starving meant she enjoyed every bite.

The two men were waiting for her to say something after she finished. She gave them a wide close mouthed smile and said, "That was very delicious. I'm going to have to come back later to buy some from you." The men laughed and told her she was welcome and that she was being too kind.

Catherine bid the two bakers goodbye, claiming she didn't want to be late to meet a friend, a was on her way.

She walked at a leisurley pace until she turned the corner and saw Adam clutching something to his chest and backing away from two bigger boys who were trying to corner him against the bakery's wall.

She immediately recognized the type of people the unidentified boys were.

Bullies. Catherine  _detested_  bullies. She was going to put a stop to this before it began.

She hoisted her bag up on her shoulder and wedged her clothes on top of the bags opening and straps so they wouldn't fall before coming up behind the two boys.

She cleared her throat to get their attention. They jumped before whirling to face her. She gave them the same glacial look she gave her cousins and next-door-neighbors kids when they acted out or had tantrums. Her father called it the Ice Eyes. It was a glare so cold her father often joked that her eyes turned to shards of golden ice when she glared at people. He said her mother used it on her and her grandmother used it on her mother and so on.

Catherine didn't even have to say more than one word. She just whipped her hand out (laughing on the inside when the bullies flinched) and pointed down the other way from them and said in a cold tone, " **Go!** " The boys scurried down the road throwing 'Yes ma'am's' over their shoulders as they went.

Adam just stared at her in awe. It was obvious that he was impressed with how she scared them off. Catherine wondered if anyone other than her had ever come to his aid before. She sincerely hoped so. She didn't like the thought of sweet Adam being bullied by his more cruel peers. But she wouldn't think of that now. Now she wanted answers.

"Adam, just what were you thinking? You just ran off, anything could have happened to you." It had scared her when he ran off. She was afraid he was going to be attacked again. By some other sick pervert, and she wouldn't have been there to stop it that time.

Adam had the decency to look down at his scuffed brown shoes in shame. Catherine smiled when he wasn't looking. She had to admit, he was truly adorable. But now that she was looking she saw that he was holding something. It looked like something wrapped in a dirty rag.

"Adam, what do you have there?" Adam broke from his bout of shame to proudly present Catherine the stuffed parcel. She took it and inspected it. It was a slightly dirty rag. She folded back the corners to see it stuffed to the teeth with cookies, and other pasteries.

It was easy for her to put two and two together to see that Adam had used her as a distraction so he could pilfer something for them to eat. Catherine was secretly impressed with his job well done. She knew staeling was wrong but this was for the sake of survival. He wasn't stealing for fun, he was stealing so they could eat. But she had to lay down the law. She was his mother now after all. It was her job.

"Adam, you do know that stealing is wrong don't you?" Adam's previously proud grin faltered into a frown of sadness at her rebuke. But she continued on. "But since you did it out of necessity I can't be mad at you." His smile retured full force. Catherine chuckled at his enthusiasm before offering him a cookie. He gladly took one and scarfed it down.

"Adam, it's rude to eat like that. If you want to be a gentleman you must take slow measured bites. Like this." Catherine took a cookie and took a small bite from it before chewing it slowly and swallowing. Adam watched her and repeated it near bite for bite. When he was done he looked to her for approval. She smiled and said, "Very good~"

They continues to eat their goodies while walking down the dirt street. Adam was content to hold onto Catherine's hand as she led him around. But while he was at peace she was almost frantically planning their next move. She had no idea what to do next but fianlly she got an idea. She saw an elderly man loading a horse drawn wagon with crates.

She whispered for Adam to hurry before tugging him behind her at a brisk pace. She got to the elderly man and when he saw her he tipped his hat to her. She curtsied in return before asking him where he was headed to. He told her he was on his way back to his home town. It was the next town over.

"Sir, would you mind if my son and I hitched a ride with you? We were headed there ourselves but our ride left without us I'm afraid." The man rubbed his scruffy chin in thought. He looked a little reluctant so Catherine decided to butter him up.

"I would be ever so grateful. I need to be there soon, I'm starting a new job there you see. And I need that job to feed my son. Please~" The man looked at her soft pleading face before sighing gustliy. He agreed to let them ride in the back with his boxes. He just warned them to be careful not to tip over any of them or they would break.

Catherine thanked him again before hopping into the back and lifting Adam in behind her. They sat in silence while the old man packed up the last couple of boxes before getting in the steerers seat.

He hitched his horses into motion and they were on their way.

They were leaving Welling and going to  _Whitechapel_.

**TBC~!**


	6. Lovely Lodgings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A place to rest their weary bones.

 

 

**Reality Raincheck**

**CHAPTER 05**

**By: The Mistress~**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

 

They'd been traveling with the elderly man, who they found out was named Oscar, for over a day now. But he assured her that they only had to make it across one more bridge and they'd be there. So it wouldn't be too much longer before they arrived in Whitechapel. And Catherine couldn't be happier. Her legs and ass had fallen asleep ages ago. She knew it was going to be torture to walk after they got up.

She'd kept Adam busy by playing the same games with him that she'd played with Mark when they were children. He loved all the simple games, he assumed she invented them herself. He'd never heard of games like I SPY, Rock-Paper-Scissors, or Thumb War. He giggled in childish delight every time he'd win and guess the right thing or pin her thumb down.

Catherine thought it was adorable how much he seemed to enjoy playing these games with her. Absently she wondered when these games were invented. Then a cold thought seared into her mind. If these games were supposed to be invented at a later time did that mean she just...invented them herself?

Catherine cursed in her mind but consoled herself with the knowledge that it was only little games, nothing life altering was done so it was okay. After all, no harm could come from her 'inventing' little kids games.

Right?...Right!

Catherine gasped and was torn from her thoughts when the buggy went over a large bump in the road. It jostled her and Adam so much they almost fell onto Oscar's crates. But thankfully no harm was done to them or the cargo. After Catherine righted her and her son she looked up at the road ahead of them. There up ahead was a bustling city. It wasn't as big or as busy as where she grew up but it was still very impressive. Especially compared to where Catherine had ended up in the beginning. Welling was nothing in contrast with Whitechapel.

Oscar asked Catherine if she had somewhere she and Adam were supposed to stay the night. Catherine faltered when she realized that she didn't. She was so worried about getting caught that she didn't plan that far ahead. She said she didn't so Oscar told her of a boarding house that his sister ran.

Not having any other alternative Catherine agreed. Oscar dropped her and Adam off in front of a red brick house. It was three stories tall and had a pristine white sign up front that boasted its name. The Maroness Boarding House.

Just before Oscar left he told her that his sister was as mean as a snake but she was fair in her prices. He was gone before Catherine could reply. The former med student led the little brunette boy up the stairs and to the two front doors. She didn't know which door led to the owner so she just picked one. It opened up to a well decorated sitting room complete with plush settees and a fireplace.

Catherine didn't see anyone and was about to call out when a stern female voice piped up from above them. "Can I help you?" Catherine and Adam looked up and saw a small old woman in a green dress looking down on them. Catherine found her voice and replied, "Yes, Oscar sent me here. He said you have rooms for rent." The old lady huffed before descending the stairs to meet them.

"Yes there are a few rooms still available. Each room is 1 pence a day, 5 per week, and a shilling a month. That includes three meals a day and bathing facilities as well as laundry." Catherine was going to speak but the woman cut her off. "There are rules here that shall be followed. First of all, if you're foolish enough to leave your things lying out and they go missing then it's not my problem. Secondly, you must be neat and tidy, I don't allow slobs to stay here. And there is a curfew set at ten o'clock Monday through Thursday and eleven o'clock on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If you aren't inside by curfew then you get locked out until morning. Do I make myself clear?"

This woman reminded Catherine of her great Aunt Agatha. Catherine just nodded dumbly before she caught herself and said, "Yes ma'am." The old lady nodded to herself and asked Catherine how long she wanted to stay. Catherine sputtered a bit before she frantically searched for the bag of coins she stole from the man. She got the bag out but had no idea what a pence was. When she read Harry Potter and watched BBC Sherlock she remembered hearing about shillings and pounds but nothing in depth so she was lost. And she'd never visited anywhere that used the UK currency.

So she decided to be honest with the woman. Or as honest as she could be given her situation. She told the woman she was born and raised in America and only recently moved here because of a family crisis. She told the old woman she didn't know how the English monetary system worked.

The old lady was surprisingly helpful. She told her there were 12 pences in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound. She even showed her which coins were pences (the copper ones), which were shillings (silver ones), and which were pounds (gold ones). It turned out Catherine had one pound, five shillings, and nine pences.

And Catherine knew it was wrong, but deep down but was secretly glad she took that awful mans money. Without it her and Adam would be sleeping and trying to survive on the streets until she got a job. A job. That was another thing she had to do, get a job. Her little bit of money wasn't going to last them forever.

Catherine went ahead and paid the woman a shilling so they would definitely have a place to eat, sleep, and bath for the next month. The woman took her money and introduced herself as Mrs. Williams. She led Catherine and Adam, who looked around the place in awe, up the stairs to the second floor.

They passed a door that was slightly ajar. A woman in an old fashioned nurses uniform was sitting at a desk writing. But before Catherine could look any longer Mrs. Williams pulled her attention back onto her. She handed Catherine a metal key that sat heavily in her palm. Mrs. Williams told her that there were only two keys in the house that opened her room. The one in her hand and the skeleton key Mrs. Williams herself had.

Mrs. Williams opened the door and showed them around. The room was gorgeous and homey. It was done in dark browns and rosy pinks. There was one large bed in the center of the room that had a mountain of pillows on it and looked soft to the touch. The bed had a small end table placed on each side of it that held candles and matches for when it got dark. And there was a small desk near the window and across the room there was a beautifully crafted armoire.

Catherine had only seen rooms this lovely in magazines like Home & Garden. She thanked Mrs. Williams for the room and the elderly woman told Catherine that there was a bathing room on each floor and that everyone on each floor had to share. She said that was why they sometimes didn't have hot water, so if you wanted a hot bath then you better get there first.

And just as she was leaving she told Catherine that the laundry got taken care of at the end of the week and that breakfast was at 8:30, lunch was at noon, and dinner was at 7 sharp. And with that she was gone, and Catherine and Adam were left on their own.

Catherine watched with amusement as Adam looked around the room in undisguised awe. When she asked him what he found so amazing he told her that he'd never been in a room as fancy as theirs before. When he lived at the orphanage he shared one small room with all the other boys his age. Catherine wondered just how many orphans his old town had been home to.

Catherine would have spiraled into more depressing thoughts if Adam hadn't tugged on her skirt to get her attention. She looked down at his little face and made a questioning sound. And Catherine watched him look down at his scuffed shoes and stall a bit before looking back up at her and asking in a timid voice, "Mummy, where do I get to sleep?"

Catherine was pretty confused. There was only one bed so of course he was gonna bunk with her. But maybe he didn't know that. But where else would he sleep? The floor? There was no way her son was sleeping on the cold floor. No way in hell.

"You'll be sleeping next to me silly~ I'll be right next to you all night long to make sure you stay safe." She didn't realise how much hearing that meant to Adam. He couldn't remember his first mummy. She died when he was very small. He remembered his daddy but he wasn't very nice to Adam. He was the one to leave him on the steps of the orphanage. Adam could feel tears start to gather in his eyes.

Catherine saw him tear up and without really putting much thought into it, she picked him up and sat him on her hip and hugged him close. He should be too heavy to sit on her hip like he was a toddler. But when you combine the force of her well exercised body and the fact that he was too light for his age it made the feat pretty easy.

He timidly laid his head on her shoulder and sighed in happiness when she rested her chin on his head. They didn't speak for a long time. They just stood there, being comforted by the warmth of another person who didn't wish them harm.

It was nice.

**TBC~!**

 


	7. I've Seen You Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seeing someone familiar.

**Reality Raincheck**

**CHAPTER 06**

**By: The Mistress~  
**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

 

Catherine held Adam until she felt him slump in her arms. She looked down and saw that he'd fallen asleep. She smiled and carefully laid him on the bed to take a nap. He shifted a bit before drifting off again. Then she took her bag and things over to the desk and sat them on it while she took the chair. Once seated she let out a long sigh and staired at her purse and clothes for a time.

She soon began drifting off into thought. She wondered how long it would be before someone noticed Erin and Tori were gone and went to look for them. And eventually someone would notice she too was gone and search her apartment and that's when they'd find Tori and Erin's mutilated bodies.

Catherine's mind started swarming with questions she didn't have the answers to.

'How long before someone searched her apartment?', 'Would they take her disappearance as her being kidnapped?', 'Would her parents and brother go crazy with worry?', 'Would they ever give up searching for her?', 'Would someone blame her for her friends' murders?'

Catherine squeezed her eyes shut and clapped her hands over her ears, like the action would somehow quiet the persistent questions. She felt her eyes prick with tears, so she grabbed the wad of clothing from the desk and buried her face in it to try and muffle her unavoidable tears. She sobbed until her body shook from the force it. She cried and cried until she felt like she couldn't cry anymore even if she had to.

When her sniffles stopped and she could breath without hiccuping she removed her wet face from the cloth and looked over to see if Adam was still asleep.

He wasn't. He was just watching her with a sad look on his little face.

She didn't know what to say to comfort him. So after drawing a blank she decided to just keep quiet. But then Adam spoke up and asked her why she was crying. She gave him a weak smile and figured she might as well tell him.

"I'm crying because two very dear friends of mine died the other day. And I miss them."

Adam frowned and got up and gave her a hug. Catherine smiled and hugged him back. They she pulled away and dried her face off. And after she cleaned herself up she realised she felt better. Crying certainly hadn't solved her multitude of problems but it had made her feel a little better. So she put a smile on her face and decided that she was just going to have to deal with these problems one at a time.

With that thought running through her head Catherine looked down at Adam and her smile faltered a bit and she said the first thing that popped into her head.

"Adam I need to get you some better clothes. Those have certainly seen better days~"

Catherine chuckled when Adam looked down at his clothes in confusion. He didn't see a problem with them. He figured that if they covered him up and held together then they were still good. He looked up at his new mother and asked her what was wrong with his clothes and why she thought he needed new ones.

"Well those are fine for you to run around and play in but they won't work if we need to go somewhere nice. You'll look like a little ragamuffin~ So why don't we go ask Mrs. Williams where we can find a nice clothing store?"

With that Catherine stood up and grabbed her purse. She debated on whether or not she should take it with her but finally decided that she'd leave it in their room. God forbid someone see what was inside. She was still afraid to leave it out in the open so she hid it under the mountain of pillows that were at the head of their bed. And she quickly hid her suit in the bottom of the armoire and placed her 'borrowed' clothes on top.

She may just get her something new as well. She shuddered when she thought of what those prostitutes did while wearing these clothes. She dearly hoped they washed them at least.

'I'd be disgusting if they didn't.' she thought while making sure she had her money pouch. She smiled down at Adam who didn't hesitate to grin back at her. She held his hand and they left their new room and locked the door. She tucked her new key into her bra and reminded herself to get a ribbon so she could wear it like a necklace. She didn't want to lose it somewhere and get in trouble.

"Let's go then Adam." They walked down the long hallway and down the stairs. Catherine looked around the den and in the foyer but didn't see Mrs. Williams. They went deeper in the house and heard the sound of pans clanking and followed the noise until they found the kitchen and Mrs. Williams. Catherine knocked on the door frame and the landlady looked up.

"Yes, what do you need?" she asked in a stern tone. Catherine just smiled politely and asked Mrs. Williams if she knew any good clothing shops in town.

"Our luggage got lost and now I need to go and get Adam some new things." she said sheepishly. Adam knew his mother was lying but wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. He just looked around the room while Mrs. Williams gave his mother the directions. He snapped back into focus when Catherine pulled him from the kitchen and down the hall.

"Are we goin' now Mummy?" he asked as he looked up at her. She smiled and nodded. He looked back towards the kitchen and asked quietly, "Mummy, why's Missus Williams so grouchy?" Catherine chuckled before coughing and telling him that she was so grouchy because she probably had a very hard life. Adam seemed to be thinking her answer over before nodding.

And Catherine thanked God for small blessings because the store Mrs. Williams told her about was only about a ten minute walk away from the boarding house instead of all the way across town. They walked down the road and then crossed Maiden St. so they could get to to Orchard St., which is where the shop was.

They stopped as a couple carriages passed before looking both ways and crossing the cobbled street. They walked along at a leisurely pace and Catherine looked at all the different things people were wearing. Almost everyone was wearing a hat, save for most of the children and a few ladies she saw. Everyone was so prim and proper looking. All the men had vests on with jackets over them and the women wore ruffled shirts and coats and long skirts and dresses.

Catherine looked away from the different people and saw she was across from Orchard St. She made sure she still had Adam's hand and looked both ways before quickly walking across. And then after walking down the left side of the street she saw the store. It was a quaint little building and the sign had pink roses in full bloom painted on it. Catherine smiled and ushered Adam inside. She dicided to get him some things first.

She picked out seven good button up shirts and held them up to him to see if they'd fit. They were a couple sizes too big but that was so he could grow into them. Then she picked three pairs of trousers and four pairs of shorts that all looked to be a size or two too big.

And Catherine even grabbed a couple sets of suspenders and socks. Adam saw all the different things she was getting and his eyes widened comically. He couldn't believe his new Mummy was buying him all these clothes! He knew clothes cost a lot because Matron complained of having buy them and he didn't want his Mummy to waste money on him.

"Mummy...you don't have to buy me all these new things. I can just wear m'used clothes." Catherine just smiled and wagged a finger at him before handing him his new things. She ruffled his hair and walked with him over to the ladies section. Adam blushed when he saw the chemise, corsets, petticoats, and drawers. He looked down at the clothes in his hands as his Mummy looked through the racks.

Catherine looked at all the different things and was a bit at a loss of what to actually buy. She knew she needed shirts and skirts but...what else~? What else do women of this time need? And Catherine was so preoccupied with looking through the different things that she accidentally bumped into someone.

She looked up and saw the woman and said without thinking about it, "Oh pardon me Madam Red."

But then her eyes widened and she realised she couldn't remember where she'd seen this woman before. It wasn't from this time that was for sure. So it must be from her time. But that didn't make sense either. Catherine was horribly confused but snapped to attention when Madam Red spoke.

"Oh~ You know my moniker? I'm dreadfully sorry but I can't remember your name dear. Which is odd because I'm usually fantastic at remembering names."

Catherine was at a loss of words. She didn't know how she knew this woman but she did. So she just smiled and shrugged her shoulders and said, "I'm not sure where but I've seen you before. And I don't know how I know your name. Maybe...maybe I heard it in passing."

"Hmm, maybe. It is possible. I've been attending quite a lot of parties as of late. Maybe you heard of me there. But enough idle chit chat. You know the name the public had dubbed me but my real name is Angelina Durless. And what is your name dear? And the little one next to you~ You're obviously not from England."

Catherine panicked a bit but said with a smile, "Oh and what makes you think I'm not from here?" And Angelina just laughed and said, "Why your accent of course! I've never quite heard one like it~"

Catherine just laughed lightly and internally sighed with relief. "Well my name is Catherine Bennett. And this is my son, Adam Bennett. We used to live in America. But an unforseen tragedy has uprooted us and forced the both of us here with nothing but a small amount of money and the clothes on our backs."

Angelina gasped and put her hand over her heart and gave Catherine a sympathetic look. "Oh Miss Catherine, that's horrible. I know it's not really any of my business but...what happened?"

Catherine looked down and pulled Adam to her side and he buried his face in her skirts. He didn't want to say anything that might poke a hole in his mother's story. So he just listened to her as she talked and tried to memorize her story.

"Well I had gone through school to become a doctor but as soon as I finished the last day of my schooling's I returned home and found our estates burning to the ground. They burned everything and everyone inside including my dear husband Jonathan. And with no living relatives to help us I decided to gather my son and move far away from anything that might remind us of our lives before."

Angelina pulled a hankercheif from her purse and dabbed at her eyes and sniffed. "My goodness, you've been through hell and back Mrs. Bennett." And Catherine nodded solemnly and said with a tired sigh, "Yes and if I don't get a job soon we'll be sleeping on the streets."

Angelina perked up and said with a smile, "I know! Why don't you try getting a job at the Royal London Hospital? That's where I work. I've just gotten my medical license. And you said you went through school to become a doctor back in America so it should be no problem! And it'll be wonderful to have another lady doctor on staff~"

Catherine thought it over and thought it sounded like a wonderful idea. But then doubt started worming its way into her thoughts and she asked timidly, "But...are you sure they'll allow me to even try? I don't have and financial backing. And I don't have any important family to boost this all along. They'll probably just turn me away."

Catherine sighed and hung her head but Angelina just waved her hand and said, "Oh dear those stuff shirts won't dare turn you away. I'll take you there myself and tell them you're a friend from America who came all the way here to be a doctor like me~! It's a marvelous plan! hahaha~!"

Catherine felt like that just might work and smiled and thanked Angelina but the redhead just brushed her thanks off and changed subjects. Angelina looked down at the clothes in Adam's arms and said, "Shopping for Adam are you?" Catherine just smiled and explained that she was trying to get them both some new things.

"We can't wear these things forever." Angelina nodded and looked Catherine over while tapping her chin in thought. She started walking around Catherine before smiling deviously and saying, "You would look wonderful in red you know~"

And before Catherine could stop her Angelina was ordering the shopkeeper over to take her measurements. Angelina led Adam over to a chair to sit down while the flustered shopkeeper started measuring his mother. Then the lady shopkeeper gave the measurements to Angelina and she began picking out different things. From corsets to petticoats to full length dresses.

Angelina was a whirlwind of movement. She seemed to be picking out whatever caught her fancy. And she only really asked for Catherine's input on small things like color and whether or not she'd like ruffles or lace. And soon Catherine had almost a whole wardrobe stacked up for her. She tried to tell Angelina that there was no way she could afford all this but the redhead just brushed her off and told the shopkeeper to ring it all up.

Catherine blanched and Adam watched the redheaded woman continue talking while the shopkeeper wrapped everything up and boxed it. And there were a good few boxes too. It would require both he and his mother carrying them to get them all back to the boarding house.

And Angelina kept Catherine distracted while she covertly paid for everything. And she just laughed and continued talking about nonsensical things while she covertly paid for everything. And she happily handed a very confused Catherine and Adam the boxes of purchases and said,

"Well dear, it was fun chatting with you and I hope to see you coming into the hospital tomorrow so we can discuss your future career as a medical professional. But now I must be off. But remember, come into the Royal London Hospital tomorrow and just ask for me, Angelina Durless. I'll be waiting darling~!"

And she waved cheerfully as a carriage stopped behind her and a man opened the door to let her in and before Catherine knew it she was gone. And Catherine looked at the plethora of boxes in her and Adam's arms and wondered out loud, "What just happened?" She looked down at Adam but he just gave her a befuddled look and shrugged. He didn't have a clue either it seemed.

Catherine sighed and said a tad uncertainly, "Well...I guess we should be heading back then. We don't want to miss out on lunch do we?" Adam smiled at the mention of food and soon they were walking back to Mrs. William's boarding house, towing their boxes silently. And after they got back they put the boxes down and went to eat lunch. Catherine couldn't remember the last time she'd sat through such a stifling and boring meal. But the food was delicious so she endured.

And once they were excused Catherine and her little charge made their way back up to their room and Catherine pulled her key out and unlocked their door. And the young woman belatedly remembered she needed a ribbon for her key before they went inside and re-closed the door. Adam sat on the bed and Catherine glanced over at the stack of boxes. Then a thought struck her suddenly.

'I didn't spend any money today. That means...Miss Durless paid for our new things. Oh god, now I feel like a charity case. I'm gonna have to pay her back for it all. And it looked expensive too. *sigh* Oh well, if I get the job tomorrow then I'll have no trouble paying her back. I just hope she's okay with being payed back in lump sums.'

 

**TBC~**


	8. The Doctor Is In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A job for Catherine.

**Reality Raincheck**

**CHAPTER 07**

**By: The Mistress~  
**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Catherine tossed and turned for hours before she finally fell into a fitful sleep. She awoke around seven in the morning and groggily pushed the covers back and stumbled from the bed. She yawned and cracked her neck before she began putting together her outfit for the day.

Today was the day she was going to the Royal London Hospital to hopefully get a job as a doctor. She knew it was a long shot but she hoped that with Angelina's help she could land a well paying job. She could have survived a bit longer if she was on her own but now that she had Adam with her she had to be cautious. She couldn't just run around at random. She felt that she owed a stable environment to the tiny brunette boy.

'I hope this luck I've been having lately sticks with me.' Catherine thought with a worried frown as she looked through the dresses and such Angelina had picked out for her. She didn't know which one to wear. She wondered if she should simply forgo a dress and wear another skirt and blouse combo.

And Angelina had gotten her a few matching coats too, so she could wear one over the top and shirt. It seemed more professional to her, like the suits she wore from her time, so she decided to go with that. The skirt she picked out was a navy blue and had the material gathered in the back to create that 'poof' looking thing that was so popular with the women now. And it had ruffles along the hems too so it had a feminine look about it.

The shirt was white and had white lace on the cuffs and around the collar. It buttoned up the front and had white lace details. Catherine saw that all the clothes were impeccably made. They were much higher quality than most of the things she'd worn before all this happened. But she also saw how frou-frou and complicated it all was and grimaced. How she longed for a pair of slacks and a button up. She'd trade a kingdom for more practical clothes. But oh well~

Catherine then went through the arduous task of putting on all of the bottom layers before she could finally put the actual skirt and blouse. And just as she was hiking her dress up so she could put her booted foot on the desk chair Adam began stirring. She looked over while she laced up the first boot and then a thought hit her.

'Oh fuck! What's Adam going to do if I get this job?! Did they have babysitters in 1880? Aw shit, I really doubt it.' Catherine wanted to groan but settled for sighing softly and switching boots. Once both were tied she went and sat on the edge of the bed and reached over to lightly shake Adam.

"Adam, come on, time to get up. You're going to have to come with me today while I go see about that job." Catherine felt a smile tug at her lips as she watched the little brunette groggily sit up and rub the sleep from his eyes. He gave out a wide yawn and said in a sleep husked voice,

"Okay, I'm up Matron." But then when his bleary eyes opened and he surveyed the room he gasped. His head whipped over to Catherine and said with awe, "It wasn't a dream." And before Catherine could say anything Adam tossed his covers back and threw his skinny arms around her neck and started crying. Not knowing what to really say, Catherine just returned his hug and rocked him back and forth. She let him cry to his heart's content, it was good for him to let all out. It would have been much worse if he'd bottled it all up.

And she managed to catch snippets of things he said through his tears. Like how he thought she and everything that happened was a dream and that he also thought he was still stuck at the orphanage. And Catherine wondered how badly he'd been treated in that place if it meant he was glad to have ended up with her. Even after the hell he'd almost entered when she stumbled upon him and that monster of a man. It must have truly been awful if she, a complete stranger, were the better alternative.

But Catherine couldn't think of that now. Right now she had to get Adam ready or they'd never get to the hospital at a decent time. So after rubbing Adam's back and murmuring soothing words he calmed down enough for the young woman to get him up and to the bathroom. There she found a wash rag and basin which she filled with warm soapy water. Then she told him to wash himself while she waited in the bedroom. And before she left she told him she'd bring him a change of clothes.

Adam looked nervous to be left alone but nodded and watched Catherine leave out the door. Once out she went and started picking out what her new son would wear. What she chose was simple but she didn't think Adam would appreciate being stuffed into some stiff, uptight clothes just yet. So some knee length green shorts, a matching jacket, a white button up, and brown shoes it was. Plus some suspenders and socks went on the pile of clothes as well. And with that done Catherine took the stack of clothes to the bathroom and saw the same lady from the day before was waiting outside the closed door.

"I'm so sorry miss~ My son is in there. I'll tell him to hurry up." the woman gave a polite smile and nodded. Catherine knocked on the door before she poked her head in and said, "Adam? Are you covered up?" She saw he had what seemed to be a towel around his waist so she figured he had already bathed. Plus his hair was wet so that proved her theory. "Okay Adam, I brought you some clothes. And please try and keep them clean as long as possible." Adam smiled when Catherine handed him the brand new clothes and said happily, "Yes Mummy~ I will." And before long Catherine and Adam were both ready and on their way to the hospital Angelina told her about. She'd gotten directions from Mrs. Williams again. The hospital was clear across town and Catherine had dreaded walking that far but luckily for her one of the other tenants heard Mrs. Williams giving her directions and had offered to give her and Adam a ride on his way to work.

But his work was about three or four blocks from the hospital, so they had to walk the rest of the way. Which wasn't all that bad considering how far they would have had to walk had he not given them the ride in the first place. And when they walked into the hospital Catherine scrunched her nose up at the sick people she saw in the lobby. They were openly hacking and looked awful. Catherine pulled Adam close and told him to keep his mouth covered. She quickly walked up to a nurse and asked her where Angelina's office was. The nurse scoffed and rattled off some directions really fast before she left.

Catherine couldn't help but notice how rude that woman was. But she shrugged it off before she start walking down the hall to where the rude nurse said Angelina's office was. She found it and knocked before waiting for an answer. She heard Angelina call out for her to come in. The future woman poked her head in and called out a timid, "Hello~?" And Angelina looked up and smiled happily. "Oh Catherine! Come in, come in! I'm so glad you decided to come~" the redhead gushed as she stood from her desk. And she carried on talking, not giving Catherine a chance to say anything.

"Well I went ahead and talked to the hospital superiors and after some...'polite persuasion' they agreed to interview you. We're in need of another woman and children's doctor. Well...we are now~ Haha~" Angelina had basically blackmailed one of the three men in charge. And he had convinced the other two to hire you to work along side Angelina. "So where will I be working?" Catherine asked with a relieved smile. Angelina pointed to the desk on the other side of Angelina's office.

"We're going to have to share my office dear. The higher ups gave some nonsense excuse about how they didn't have enough offices to give you your own. But at least you get to share with me instead of some boring old goat right?" Angelina giggled and Catherine laughed before she said, "So when will I begin getting my own patients?" Angelina picked up some files off her desk and looked them over before handing them to Catherine. "Right now actually. We're going to be sharing my usual work load. I hope you're ready to begin."

Catherine took a deep breath and took the files. She gave a confident smile and said, "Well, this is what I'd been training for right?"

**TBC~!**

 


	9. Time With Angelina

**Reality Raincheck**

CHAPTER 08

By: The Mistress~

**A/N: Oh my god I'm SO SORRY for such a late update! But I just didn't have the muse for this series fic for a really long time and only just now got it back. And you'll all be happy to note that I'm already starting work on CHAPTER 09! Pretty sure that will be when we first meet all the Phantomhives! Oh I'm super excited to get that one out. But anywho, I hope you all like this one. I felt kinda scatterbrained writing it so please forgive any errors you find in it. And be sure to comment! Those help me find energy to write more for you! Hugs and Kisses! -Mistress**

````````````````````````````````````````````Three Months Later````````````````````````````````````````````````

Catherine has been working at the Royal London Hospital for three months now. And she couldn't believe people survived any illness or injury in this time period. In comparison to hospitals from her time these people were being treated by mud covered slobs in a filthy barn. At least, that's what it felt like to her. There were no rubber gloves, nothing was sanitized to her standards, and everything was so ass-backwards it was painful. And the multiple cures for things that were readily available in her time hadn't been invented here as of yet. Which was troubling to say the least. Not to mention the close calls she'd had with treating her patients. A week into her stay at the Royal London Hospital Catherine almost prescribed antacids to a woman who'd been suffering from heart burn. But luckily she'd stopped herself in time. She'd asked the woman what her diet was like. It came as no small surprise to find out that 90% of it was greasy or fried food she'd purchased from vendors around town. Things like small meat pies, sausages, fish and chips, and pig's trotters.

Catherine wanted to gag when the woman mentioned pig's feet but refrained. Instead she told the woman the reason she as getting so ill every day was because of what she was eating. And that a diet consisting of nothing but greasy, fatty foods was no doubt going to kill her one day, maybe very soon. The woman was thoroughly spooked. But Catherine told her that to get rid of her heart burn and help her become healthier all she had to do was stop eating so many bad things. The woman frowned and told her she didn't think she could stop eating her favorite foods. Mostly because that kind of food was really all she had access to. She was a 'working woman' and could usually only managed to scrape enough together to get ready made things off the streets. Catherine nodded and said,

"I understand where you're coming from. I wouldn't be able to give up my favorites either. But you don't have to~! Just cut down on them. Don't have them every single day. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Also meat that isn't fried or cooked in heavy grease is better. Baked foods tend to be the healthier option for the body, alright? And if you don't have any choice and end up eating something that causes you to get heart burn anyway there are remedies I can suggest that will soothe the burn. You can drink a cup of buttermilk, eat a few slices of apple, or a banana. All those things are relatively easy to acquire and will help you feel better." The afflicted woman nodded and got up from her seat on the examination table. Meanwhile Catherine wrote out a list of healthy things the woman could eat instead of her unhealthy favorites, as well as the things that could help ease her heartburn. The woman paid the doctor fee before dipping in a polite curtsy. "Thank you Dr. Bennett," then she was gone, and Catherine could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

But at the moment she was sitting with the parents of her newest patient writing down the girl's symptoms. The young girl was from a low ranking noble family. She was barely hitting puberty, and yet she'd been admitted by her parents because the poor thing confessed to be suffering of muscle cramps and numbness in her fingers. Catherine questioned the girl's mother and father to see if they knew when this had started but the father knew absolutely nothing. Which spoke volumes about how very little attention he paid his only daughter. But luckily her mother had noticed how her daughter had become more lethargic as of late. And she'd recently lost her appetite to the point where her mother and their maids had to work overtime to get her to eat even the barest of meals. And it showed in the girl's unhealthily thin figure. The pathetic waif of a girl would have been the envy of the 'thinspo' morons of her time period who valued being unhealthily thin over being healthily fit.

"When she does manage to eat what does a typical meal consist of?" Catherine may have been ignoring the father but she doubted he knew anything helpful so she focused on the mother, who was in regular contact with the girl every day for substantial periods of time.

"Well she can only hold down a single piece of toast or a scone for breakfast, and sadly she skips lunch altogether. But I put my foot down when it comes to dinner. She's to eat some vegetables at the very least. Oh doctor, what is wrong with my darling baby girl? Will she be alright?" The fear that edged the mother's voice was reassuring, it meant she cared. And Catherine was 99% sure she knew what was ailing the young lady. She had all the symptoms of Hypocalcemia, or a calcium deficiency. Normally she'd prescribe some calcium tablets along with some vitamin D pills but alas, that just wasn't an option at the moment. So instead she explained that she was in need of lots of calcium and sunshine.

"Yes ma'am, I think getting the girl out into direct sunlight for at least 30 minutes every day is a wonderful place to start. As well as starting her on a diet of dairy for each meal. She appears to have low levels of Calcium and Vitamin D, which isn't at all good. But if you follow my directions and diet plan then she'll be right as rain in just a few weeks."

Quickly she wrote down an appropriate meal plan rich in milk and cheese for them to give to their cook so the young lady could begin on her way to better health. She also made sure to write down that she was to have direct contact with sunshine for as little as thirty minutes every day if the weather permitted. She gave it to the parents and accepted the bag heavy with coins before signing off on her release and closing the girl's chart. Catherine waved goodbye to the no longer gloomy parents before getting back to work. The young lady had been her last patient of the day so now she was planning to finish up the last little bit of paperwork she'd put off the day before. Then once she filed it all away she could return 'home' and see Adam.

At least that had been her plan before Madam Red practically danced into the room and closed the door behind her swiftly. In her hand she held a formal letter. She snatched up Catherine's letter opener before breaking the wax seal on the envelope and yanking the stiff piece of parchment out to read. The smile on her face was wide and full of excitement. It was the biggest smile Catherine had seen the ruby eyed woman show in the time she'd known her. And before she could ask what had her so happy Angelina squealed and began talking a mile a minute. "Oh I just got my invite for the Viscount of Delaney's party that's being held in a week! I am so excited for the social season to start. It'll be non stop parties. I've got the perfect gown for the Viscount's party too. Red of course~"

Catherine listened to Angelina excitedly babble on about parties and dresses with a smile. But while the redhead chattered Catherine took the time to finish filling out the rest of her work. But one particular question from the fiery redhead caught her off guard.

"Catherine dear, would you like to come with me? All you do is work, work, work~! You need a night off from it all! Beautiful ladies like us need to relax or we'll turn into old spinsters before we're aware it's happened!" The brunette pursed her lips while awkwardly scratching her cheek. In all honestly she didn't want to go to whatever party her friend was so interested in. But she was afraid that outright refusing her offer would upset her. And Catherine owed a lot to the redhead. She'd bought all those clothes for her and Adam and then refused to let Catherine pay her back even a cent. And she even helped her get the job that was letting her and Adam live normal lives free of worry.

And another big problem was that Angelina was a high society gal from the Victorian era. Catherine was from a family that was, quite simply, nouveau-riche. Her parents weren't trust fund babies, they'd worked up from the bottom for their place near the top. And they'd made sure Catherine and her brother Mark worked hard too. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett had seen so many lower class people, some they knew personally, get ahead in life with hard work only for their kids to turn out spoiled rotten. It was a thing most parents who grew up with nothing did when they made big money. They didn't want their kids to face the same hardships they did so they tended to spoil them. But it never worked out because then those kids grow up never appreciating anything they're given.

So Angelina and Catherine weren't just different in terms of time periods but class as well. And the brunette had no clue what sort of fancy non spoken rules the rich people here went by. She doubted the stuff she'd gathered from movies counted as 100% historically accurate. And she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of them. But she also didn't want to be rude to Angelina. She'd helped her and Adam out so much in the short time they'd become acquainted with her. So in order to try and say no without offending her Catherine gave the only answer she could really think of off the top of her head that sounded at all plausible.

"Oh um...well you know I'd love to hon, but...I can't leave Adam alone all night while I go out with you. I don't have anyone to watch him for me. Plus I don't have any formal party dresses to wear. Bad luck eh? Sorry Angelina~Maybe another time?" Catherine thought that would be it but apparently Angelina was more determined for her friend attend the party with her than she'd originally thought. By any means necessary it seemed.

"Oh Catherine please! Those are all easy fixes! I have an entire wardrobe bursting with suitable evening gowns that would look stunning on you! Though I admit they might look a tad short...what with your impressive height and all. But I'm sure we can make it work! And as for Adam, just bring him along! There will be quite a few children there as well. I'm sure he'll have a lovely time playing with children his own age. As a matter of fact I'm sure my sister and her son Ciel will be there as well. He's going to be turning 7 in December." Catherine internally screamed at the mention of Ciel Phantomhive. Knowing what was to befall the boy was torture. But she was feeling conflicted. She really wanted to save him from having to suffer but she also knew that there really wasn't anything she could do to prevent it. She didn't know what day that wacko angel would be attacking his manor and burning it down. So unless she wanted to to make everyone think she was either crazy or a threat she'd better keep her mouth shut.

So the brunette gulped and figured it was best to simply go along with it. No way she could worm her way out of this one. "I suppose you make a good point Angelina. In that case, Adam and I would be delighted to accompany you to this party. Just please keep me company while we're there. I'm afraid I won't know anyone there but you. And I'd hate to make a fool of myself, or you for that matter." The redhead brushed off your worries and flashed the brunette a bright smile. "Oh don't even worry yourself over it darling. You're too polite to embarrass me! And Adam seems too shy to either. Now I'll need you to come by a day or two before the party so we can figure out the dress situation. Oh I simply cannot wait to start dressing you up!" Angelina seemed to already be planning things over in her head. Catherine just sighed quietly and got back to her work. She might as well just go with the flow. Things might go smoother if she didn't fight.

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That night she told Adam that they were both going to a fancy party. He seemed excited for the most part but she could also see nervousness nipping at the edge of his smile. Catherine did her best to assure him that nothing bad would happen. And she even mentioned that some children about his age would be there and he could talk and play with them. He looked pretty excited about that part. Being able to interact with kids his age instead of clinging to his mother's dress while being surrounded by grown ups sounded way more fun to Adam. But suddenly a thought struck Catherine and she gasped. She'd never asked Adam how old he was! She didn't know how old her adopted son was or when his birthday was! She mentally scolded herself before clearing her throat and meekly asking,

"Um, Adam sweetie? I'm so sorry for not asking sooner but...how old are you?" Adam looked a bit surprised before replying a tad uncertainly, "My dad left me with the orphanage when I was 5. I remember because he told me before he left I was five. And I think I was there for almost two years before you took me in mum. So I'm seven now. Or about to turn seven I think?" The brunette nodded and asked another question with a smile. "Well when is your birthday then? I need to know when to make you a cake and buy you gifts~!" Adam seemed to boggle at the thought of a cake and gifts but he eventually sputtered out, "O-oh no mum you already got me all sorts of gifts, remember? All those nice clothes an' things were the best gift I ever got in me life!" His accent seemed to thicken the more excited he became. Catherine had noticed that the more time he spent with her, the less his English accent shined through. Which was good considering he was supposed to be from America, like her. Though she focused on the task at hand and told Adam that those didn't count as real gifts since they were things he'd needed.

"Those things were just what a mother is supposed to give her child. Merely necessities sweetie. But you didn't answer my question, did you?" Adam seemed to pout but finally relented and gave you an answer that didn't satisfy you in the least. Apparently he'd never celebrated his birthday past being three years old. Once his mother died his father just stopped caring. Then finally when he turned five his dad dropped him off at the orphanage and never returned. And the Matron didn't know his birthday, just like she didn't know the birthdays of other kids in her care. Because their parent(s) hadn't bothered to stick around long enough to give her any info on the child they were abandoning. All Adam could tell her about the only birthday he did remember with his first mother was that it was cold outside when they'd made a cake. He didn't remember what month it was or anything, just that it had been cold and they'd been alone together. He didn't remember where his dad had been.

This upset Catherine. Adam didn't know when his birthday was because his shitty dad didn't feel like growing up and being a responsible parent. She was going to have to make his next birthday unforgettable. She pursed her lips and asked if he'd want a new birthday. His eyes got wide in awe. He couldn't believe you could just get a new birthday! But he nodded happily, making Catherine chuckle a bit. Then she tapped her chin thoughtfully and asked, "What about on December 1st? It'll be during the holidays and you'll get twice as many gifts as everybody else. Plus December first is a couple weeks away so I should have enough time to figure out what to get you. And also make birthday party preparations~!" Adam looked almost overwhelmed but happily nodded in agreement. And so it was settled. Adam Bennett's birthday was on December 1st.

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Catherine gritted her teeth when Angelina turned her back to head back into the closet. The two maids that had been helping gave her pitying looks but said nothing. Angelina has been making Catherine try on dress after dress for the last hour and a half! Not only were the brunette's feet killing her but her arms hurt as well. She'd had to hold them out so her fellow doctor's maid could take all of her measurements. Normally that wouldn't be that bad but her arms were already feeling sore from the exercise she'd started up again. She'd been too busy (and honestly forgot) to keep up her almost daily routine of stretches and squats since she'd landed in this time. But the week before she'd gotten back into it, even letting Adam join her for the stretches. Only now did she realize she should have refrained from doing any workouts this day since apparently dress prep counted as exercise itself! Finally she couldn't take any more and groaned out loud.

Angelina poked her head out of the large walk in closet filled with racks of ladies clothing and gave her a smile. "Oh my dear, we're almost done! I promise! And once we finish I'll have my servants bring us some lunch. How does that sound?" The redhead laughed when her dark haired friend sighed and agreed. Catherine was having so much fun with her darling new friend! It had been too long since she'd had a female companion to spend time with like this. Catherine seemed to match her intellectually, which Angelina was glad for. Plus she was a doctor as well, so she could talk to her about work without Catherine getting squeamish. Angelina had tried befriending other ladies that were still unwed like she was, but most were so achingly annoying and vapid. Now Angelina could appreciate some juicy gossip and loved dresses, dancing, and parties as much as the next debutante, but goodness! It was like that was ALL those girls cared about! Angelina loved to learn and broaden her mind! And some days it seemed she was the only woman out there who did.

Her sister Rachel used to be her only confidant when it came to wanting to further her education. And she was pleased to say her sister encouraged her every step of the way in her pursuit for knowledge. When they both lived at home Angelina couldn't wait to learn something new so she could tell her sister all about it. But ever since her sister had gotten married she'd been more focused on starting her family instead of spending time with her sister. Angelina wasn't mad at her sister for marrying the man she herself loved because deep down she knew Rachel and Vincent loved each other very much. And seeing them happy together made her as happy as it made her sad. So she pushed away her sadness and focused on getting her doctorate and attending parties. And so far she'd been able to squash down her loneliness. It helped that she spent so much time either working or visiting her sister's family. Ciel was the sweetest little boy, though his asthma and allergies kept him from playing too hard or for long periods of time. And Vincent was a wonderful father, just like Rachel was a wonderful mother.

Angelina was broken from her thoughts by Catherine's voice. She looked back and the taller woman stood in the closet's wide doorway, wearing nothing but her underthings. When the brunette shot her a worried look Angelina just flashed her a grin and held up another dress. Which just made said brunette groan in agony. Angelina laughed loudly and tried to pacify her by saying it was the last dress. Which was true. She'd had her try on at least a dozen dresses. And while almost every single one looked lovely on her Angelina found something wrong with them. She knew she was being picky but that's just how she was. She wanted the first party (and yes, she planned on dragging her friend to many more) Catherine attended here in London to be memorable! And that meant the dress she wore had to be perfect! And she thought this last one was it. It was a dress she bought on a whim but never wore it anywhere. It was impeccably crafted and made of the finest materials. It was a Rosewood pink satin ballgown. It had a long, low bodice and trained skirt. It had dainty ruffles decorating the hem and shiny ribbon trim on the collar. It was gorgeous but Angelina knew it clashed horrendously with her vibrant red hair. That's actually why she never wore it out.

Though now she was glad she'd bought it because when Catherine put it on she looked simply gorgeous. It fit her perfectly. It showed off her lovely arms and throat in a flirty manner. Angelina knew her friend was going to be catching many men's eyes the night of the party. The redhead glanced up when Catherine spoke up with a smile in her voice. "Oh I almost forgot to mention. Adam's birthday is in a couple days. He's going to be turning 7 and he's so excited. I've gotten him a few toys already but I'm not sure what to do about a cake. Do you know of any good bakeries? I'm still rather unfamiliar with things here in jolly old London." Angelina smiled broadly and clapped her hands in excitement. She'd grown rather fond of her friend's little boy. He was a bit small for his age, just like Ciel. Catherine told her he'd been sick when he was a toddler, but he was better now. And if the healthy flush in his cheeks was any indicator then he was doing well.

Catherine also said he always seemed to be hungry, which was good. It meant he was growing. Both women looked outside the large open windows and saw Adam running around the courtyard chasing butterflies. He had a huge smile on his face and when he saw he was being watched he waved. Angelina sighed and figured it was time they all sat down and had lunch. They had the dress picked out so there wasn't much else to do now. So she ordered her maids to bring in lunch to the dining room while Catherine got re-dressed in her original clothes. And after calling in Adam from playing they were sitting down to a delicious lunch. Angelina noticed how Adam and Catherine didn't seem to know all the fine nuances of eating a sophisticated meal. Adam looked the most conflicted when he had to figure out which fork to eat with. And when she asked why, in a hushed tone of course, Catherine flushed in embarrassment while Adam looked at her nervously. He said nothing though, just slumped his shoulders.

"Oh...you noticed that?" Angelina raised an eyebrow and said it was rather obvious. Her friend seemed to deflate in shame. Then she turned a hard stare on her that had the redhead surprised. She'd never seen such a look on Catherine before. And when the brunette asked her if she could keep her secret she found herself nodding easily. They'd only known each other for a short time but Angelina already felt attached to the taller woman. She didn't want to spoil their friendship over a little secret. But when Catherine told her that her mother and father had been self starters she'd been shocked speechless. "Yes, my parents weren't born into wealth. No, they were commoners before the money flowed in. They worked very hard for their fortune and wanted us to work hard too. But they never saw the point in teaching my brother and I anything like this." She gestured to the fancy tableware. "Things like etiquette and such weren't high on their list of priorities. I tried to learn what I could but I didn't get far before I had Adam. We're both a bit out of our element. I would hire a tutor for us so we can learn what we need but...I'm rather ashamed by it all. So much so I feel ill just thinking of how much a tutor would silently judge me for not knowing anything."

Catherine looked up from her half eaten food, expecting to see distaste or at the least some anger at her for lying. But instead she saw Angelina grinning and looking...happy? The brunette flinched back when her friend squealed and said excitedly, "Oh this is wonderful!" Catherine glanced at Adam and he looked just as confused as she felt but thankfully Angelina started explaining. "Why don't I teach you both the ins and outs of upper class sophistication? Oh it'll be such fun! Let's start right now!" Catherine smiled at her friend's enthusiasm and nodded in agreement. And that was how she and Adam got etiquette lessons from Angelina.

**TBC**

 


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